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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/medievalmodernti02robi 



MEDIEVAL AND 
MODERN TIMES 



AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF 
WESTERN EUROPE FROM THE DISSO- 
LUTION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 
TO THE OPENING OF THE 
GREAT WAR OF 1914 



BY 
JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 
ATLANTA • DALLAS • COLUMBUS • SAN FRANCISCO 



COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON 

ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



£(c 



OUTLINES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY, PART I 



COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON 
AND JAMES HENRY BREASTED 
ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL 



HISTORY OF WESTERN EUROPE 

COPYRIGHT, 1902, 1903, BY JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON 

ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL 



516.6 



JUL -5 1916 



Wbe jgtftcitgnm jgregg 

GINN AND COMPANY- PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



©CI.A433652 



PREFACE 

This volume is a very careful and thoroughgoing revision 
of the author's Introduction to the History of Western Europe, 
which first appeared in 1902. The presentation has been sim- 
plified so as to adapt the book especially to use in high schools 
and preparatory schools, although it can readily be employed 
in colleges as the basis of an introductory course in general 
European history, when supplemented by outside reading. The 
treatment of medieval times, especially of the Church, has 
been considerably reduced with a view of permitting a more 
adequate discussion of recent times. This saving of space and 
other condensations and omissions have made it possible" to 
devote a hundred pages more than in the original edition to 
the developments of the past hundred years. 

The illustrations have been selected with great care from the 
standpoint of their educational value. The explanatory legend 
under each of them serves to add much information which it 
would have been awkward to include in the general narrative. 
These numerous cuts have inevitably added to the length of 
the volume, but it should be noted that the narrative itself 
is somewhat shorter than that in the original edition. 

In the revision and expansion of the latter part of the book 
the author is under great obligations to his friends and col- 
leagues, Professors Charles A. Beard and James T. Shotwell. 
A great deal of time and thought has been given to the selection 
of suitable illustrations, and in this Mr. Edward K. Robinson 

of Boston has given us constant aid and advice. 

J. H. R. 

Columbia University 
New York City 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 

i. Prelude I 

2. The Roman Empire and its Government 4 

3. The Weaknesses of the Roman Empire 10 

4. The Rise of the Christian Church 17 

5. The Eastern Empire 20 

II. The German Invasions and the Break-up of the 
Roman Empire 

6. Founding of Kingdoms by Barbarian Chiefs .... 23 

7. Kingdom of the Franks 31 

8. Results of the Barbarian Invasions 35 

III. The Rise of the Papacy 

9. The Christian Church 40 

10. Origin of the Power of the Popes 46 

IV. The Monks and their Missionary Work ; the 

Mohammedans 

11. Monks and Monasteries . . . 54 

12. Missionary Work of the Monks 61 

13. Mohammed and his Religion 64 

14. Conquests of the Mohammedans; the Caliphate . . 70 

V. Charlemagne and his Empire 

15. Conquests of Charlemagne 75 

16. Establishment of a Line of Emperors in the West . . 82 

17. How Charlemagne carried on his Government ... 83 

VI. The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 

18. The Disruption of Charlemagne's Empire 87 

19. The Medieval Castle 93 

20. The Serfs and the Manor 100 

21. Feudal System 103 

22. Neighborhood Warfare in the Middle Ages .... 107 

VII. England in the Middle Ages 

23. The Norman Conquest . ,. 111 

24. Henry II and the Plantagenets 117 

v 



vi Medieval and Modern Times 

CHAPTER PAGE 

25. The Great Charter and the Beginnings of Parliament 125 

26. Wales and Scotland 128 

27. The Hundred Years' War 132 

VIII. Popes and Emperors 

28. Origin of the Holy Roman Empire 144 

29. The Church and its Property 146 

30. Powers claimed by the Popes 152 

31. Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV 153 

32. The Hohenstaufen Emperors and the Popes . . . 158 

IX. The Crusades 

33. Origin of the Crusades 166 

34. The First Crusade 170 

35. The Religious Orders of the Hospitalers and Templars 174 

36. The Second and Later Crusades 176 

37. Chief Results of the Crusades 178 

X. The Medieval Church at its Height 

38. Organization and Powers of the Church 181 

39. The Heretics and the Inquisition 187 

40. The Franciscans and Dominicans 190 

41. Church and State 195 

XI. Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 

42. The Towns and Guilds 203 

43. Business in the Later Middle Ages' 208 

44. Gothic Architecture 215 

45. The Italian Cities of the Renaissance 222 

46. Early Geographical Discoveries > 232 

XII. Books and Science in the Middle Ages 

47. How the Modern Languages Originated 239 

48. The Troubadours and Chivalry 244 

49. Medieval Science 247 

50. Medieval Universities and Studies 250 

51. Beginnings of Modern Inventions 255 

52. The Art of the Renaissance 264 

XIII. Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 

53. Emperor Maximilian and the Hapsburg Marriages . 268 

54. How Italy became the Battleground of the European 

Powers 274 

55. Condition of Germany when Charles V became 

Emperor 280 



Contents vii 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIV. Martin Luther and the Revolt of Germany 

AGAINST THE PAPACY 

56. The Question of Reforming the Church : Erasmus 284 

57. How Martin Luther revolted against the Papacy . 288 

58. The Diet at Worms, 1 520-1 521 299 

59. The Revolt against the Papacy begins in Germany 302 

60. Division of Germany into Catholic and Protestant 

Countries 306 

XV. The Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and 
England 

61. Zwingli and Calvin 311 

62. How England fell away from the Papacy . . . . 314 

63. England becomes Protestant 320 

XVI. The Wars of Religion 

64. The Council of Trent ; the Jesuits 325 

65. Philip II and the Revolt of the Netherlands . . . 331 

66. The Huguenot Wars in France 337 

67. England under Queen Elizabeth 345 

68. The Thirty Years' War 352 

69. The Beginnings of our Scientific Age 358 



XVII. Struggle in England between King and Par- 
liament 

70. James I and the Divine Right of Kings .... 365 

71. How Charles I got along without Parliament . . 368 

72. How Charles I lost his Head 373 

73. Oliver Cromwell : England a Commonwealth . . 376 

74. The Restoration 382 

75. The Revolution of 1688 . . . : . . . . ". . . 384 

XVIII. France under Louis XIV 

76. Position and Character of Louis XIV 387 

77. How Louis encouraged Art and Literature . . . 391 

78. Louis XIV attacks his Neighbors 394 

79. Louis XIV and his Protestant Subjects 396 

80. War of the Spanish Succession 398 

XIX. Rise of Russia and Prussia; Austria 

81. Beginnings of Russia 402 

82. Peter the Great 404 



viii Medieval and Modern Times 

CHAPTER PAGE 

83. Origin of the Kingdom of Prussia 407 

84. The Wars of Frederick the Great 411 

85. Three Partitions of Poland, 1772, 1793, and 1795 . 415 

86. The Austrian Realms : Maria Theresa and Joseph II 419 

XX. How England became Queen of the Ocean 

87. England after the Revolution of 1688 424 

88. How Europe began to extend its Commerce over 

the Whole World 428 

89. The Contest between France and England for Colo- 

nial Empire 431 

90. Revolt of the American Colonies from England . . 437 

XXI. General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 

x/^91. Life in the Country — Serfdom 442 

92. The Towns and the Guilds 445 

93. The Nobility and the Monarchy 449 

94. The Catholic Church 454 

95. The English Established Church and the Protestant 

Sects 456 

XXII. Modern Science and the Spirit of Reform 

96. The Development of Modern Science 461 

97. How the Scientific Discoveries produced a Spirit of 

Reform : Voltaire 464 

XXIII. The Eve of the French Revolution 

98. The Old Regime in France 473 

99. How Louis XVI tried to play the Benevolent Despot 486 

XXIV. The French Revolution 

100. How the Estates were summoned in 1789 .... 492 

101. First Reforms of the National Assembly, July to 

October, 1789 498 

102. The National Assembly in Paris, October, 1789, to 

September, 1791 502 

103. France becomes involved in a War with Other 

European Powers 506 

104. Founding of the First French Republic 512 

105. The Reign of Terror 516 

XXV. Europe and Napoleon 

106. General Bonaparte 526 

107. How Bonaparte made himself Master of France . . 531 



Co ?i tents ix 

CHAPTER TAGE 

108. How Bonaparte secured Peace in 1801 and re- 

organized Germany 535 

109. Bonaparte restores Order and Prosperity in France 538 

1 10. How Napoleon destroyed the Holy Roman Empire 54 1 
in. Napoleon at the Zenith of his Power (1808-1812) 549 

112. The Fall of Napoleon 554 

XXVI. Europe after the Congress of Vienna 

113. Reconstruction of Europe by the Congress of 

Vienna 564 

114. France, 1814-1830 568 

115. Germany and Metternich 570 

116. Revolutionary Tendencies in Italy, 1 820-1 848 . . 574 

XXVII. The Industrial Revolution 

117. Invention of Machinery for Spinning and Weaving 580 
11S. The Steam Engine 584 

119. Capitalism and the Factory System 587 

120. The Rise of Socialism 591 

XXVIII. The Revolutions of 1848 and their Results 

121. The Second Republic and Second Empire in 

France 595 

122. The Revolution of 1848 in Austria, Germany, and 

Ital Y 599 

123. Outcome of the Revolution of 1848 601 

XXIX. The Unification of Italy and Germany 

124. Founding of the Kingdom of Italy 608 

125. How Prussia defeated Austria and founded the 

North German Confederation 612 

126. The Franco-German War of 1870 and the Estab- 

lishment of the Present German Empire . . . 619 

127. The Final Unification of Italy 622 

XXX. The German Empire and the Third French 
Republic 

128. The German Constitution 626 

129. Bismarck and State Socialism 628 

130. Reign of William II 631 

131. Establishment of the Present French Republic . 635 

XXXI, Great Britain and her Empire 

. 132. The English Constitution 643 

133. The Reform of the Suffrage 644 



x Medieval and Modern Times 

CHAPTER PAGE 

134. The Cabinet 648 

135. General Reforms in England 650 

136. The Irish Question 657 

137. The British Empire : India 661 

138. The British Empire : Canada and Australasia . . 665 

139. The British Empire : South Africa 669 

XXXII. The Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century 

140. The Reigns of Alexander I (1801-1825) and 

Nicholas I (1825-1855) 674 

141. The Freeing of the Serfs and the Growth of the 

Spirit of Revolution 678 

142. The Struggle for Liberty under Nicholas II . . 683 

XXXIII. Turkey and the Eastern Question 

143. The Emergence of Serbia and Greece . . . . . 689 

144. The Crimean War (1854-1856) 691 

145. Revolts in the Balkan Peninsula 693 

146. Extinction of Turkey in Europe 695 

XXXIV. The Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth 

Century 

147. The Growth of International Trade and Competi- 

tion : Imperialism . 7°3 

148. Relations of Europe with China 710 

149. Japan becomes a World Power; Intervention in 

China 712 

150. Russia and Japan 7 J 6 

151. Partition of Africa 7 2 ° 

152. The Disruption of the Spanish Empire .... 723 

XXXV. Origin of the War of 1914 

153. The Armies and Navies of Europe 727 

154. Movements for Peace: The Hague Conferences; 

Pacifism ; Socialism 73° 

155. Matters of Dispute: National Rivalries • • - • 733 

156. The Near- Eastern Question 737 

157. The Outbreak of the War 739 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 747 

INDEX 7 65 



LIST OF PLATES 



Street Scene in Cairo (in colors) 68 

Interior of the Great Mosque of Cordova 72 

Court of the Lions in the Alhambra . 73 

Scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry (in colors) 116 

Facade of the Cathedral at Rheims 220 

Rose Window of Rheims Cathedral 220 

Interior of Exeter Cathedral 221 

North Porch of Chartres Cathedral 221 

Page from a Book of Hours, Fifteenth Century (in colors) . . . 258 

Ghiberti's Doors at Florence 264 

Holy Family by Andrea del Sarto 265 

The Rhine (in colors) 396 

The Opening of the Estates General 496 

The Tennis-Court Oath 497 

Napoleon in Egypt 530 

Napoleon I . . . 531 

Charge of the French Cavalry, Friedland, 1807 (in colors) . . . 546 

The Congress of Vienna 566 

Important Members of the Congress of Vienna 567 

Bismarck 626 

The German Imperial Family 627 

A Charge at the Battle of Sedan 634 

The Munition Works, Le Creusot, France 635 

Opening of the Opera, Paris (in colors) 642 

Queen Victoria notified of her Accession (in colors) 652 

Gladstone addressing the House of Commons on the Home Rule 

Bill 660 

The Imperial Durbar, India 661 

Church of St. Basil, Moscow (in colors) 674 

The Congress of Berlin 694 

A Palace of the Sultan, Constantinople 695 

Chinese Coolies hauling a Boat 710 

Chinese Rice Fields on Hillsides 711 



LIST OF COLORED MAPS 

PAGE 

The Roman Empire at its Greatest Extent 8 

The Migrations of the Germans in the Fifth Century 24 

Europe in the Time of Charlemagne a. d. 814 80 

The British Isles 128 

Europe about A. D. 1000 144 

Routes of the Crusaders 172 

Commercial Towns and Trade Routes of the Thirteenth and 

Fourteenth Centuries 208 

A Map of the Globe in the Time of Columbus 236 

Europe about the Middle of the Sixteenth Century 276 

Europe when Louis XIV began his Personal Government, 1661 . 388 

Europe after the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt, 17 13-17 14 . . 400 

Northeastern Europe in the time of Peter the Great 404 

The Partition of Poland 418 

England, France, and Spain in America, 1750 430 

India about 1763 434 

France during the Revolution 506 

Europe at the Time of Napoleon's Greatest Power, about 1810 . . 554 

Europe after 1S15 568 

Italy, 1814-1859 622 

The German Empire since 1S71 630 

The British Empire 666 

Western Portion of the Russian Empire 678 

Southeastern Europe, 1914 702 

The European Advance (to 1914) in Asia 706 

The Partition of Africa 722 

Europe in 1914 734 

Austria-Hungary 73S 



MEDIEVAL AND MODERN 
TIMES 

CHAPTER I 
WESTERN EUROPE BEFORE THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS 

Prelude 

i. History, in the broadest sense of the word, is all that we Object of this 
know about everything that man has ever done, or thought, or 
hoped, or felt. It is the study of past human affairs. The 
present volume deals with only a small, but for us most impor- 
tant, part of the history of the world. Its object is to give a very 
brief, clear account of the great changes which have taken place 
in western Europe since the German barbarians, some fifteen 
hundred years ago, overcame the armies of the Roman Empire 
and set up kingdoms of their own, out of which the present 
countries of France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, and England 
have grown. 

History used to be defined as "the record of past events." History no 
And most of the older textbooks tell about scarcely anything record of* 
except events — how battles were fought, how kings came to P ast events " 
the throne one after another, how treaties were concluded and 
the boundary lines between states were changed from time to 
time. But nowadays we are beginning to see that the history of 
past conditions and institutions is far more important than that 
of mere events. We want to know how people lived, what kind 
of buildings they built, what kind of books they read, how much 
they knew and what they thought about science and religion ; 
how they were governed, what they manufactured and how 
they carried on their business. 



2 Medieval and Modern Times 

illustrations It is important to understand clearly what is meant by events, 
meartbypast conditions, and institutions, since history deals with all three, 
conditions A t j s occurrence, such as the death of Queen Victoria 

and institu- 

tions or the battle of Gettysburg. A condition is a more or less per- 

manent state of affairs, such as the scarcity of money in the 
early Middle Ages or the fact that a hundred years ago only 
a small part of the English people could read. By institution 
we usually mean such things as the English Parliament, public 
schools, or trial by jury. Both conditions and institutions often 
endure for hundreds of years. Events happen in a short time 
but often produce great results, as did the invention of printing 
and the discovery of America. 
Value of the The newer kind of history, which deals with past conditions 
Sory kmd ° f as well as events, enables us really to understand the past and 
to compare it with the present, and in that way we come to 
understand the conditions in which we live much better than we 
should otherwise do. We see where our ideas and beliefs and 
inventions came from, how slowly most of them developed, and 
how men have changed their ways of living as they learned 
more, 
impossibility It is impossible to divide the past into distinct, clearly defined 
the^as^nto periods and prove that one age ended and another began in a 
clearly de- particular year, such as 476, or 1453, or 1789. Men do not and 
cannot change their habits and ways of doing things all at once, 
no matter what happens. It is true that a single event, such as 
an important battle which results in the loss of a nation's inde- 
pendence, may produce an abrupt change in the government. 
This in turn may either encourage or discourage trade and 
manufactures, and modify the language and alter the interests 
All general of a people. But these deeper changes take place only very 
pkcTgradu- 6 gradually. After a battle or a revolution the farmer will sow 
all y and reap in his old way ; the artisan will take up his familiar 

tasks, and the merchant his buying and selling. The scholar 
will study and write as he formerly did, and the household will 
go on under the new government just as it did under the old, 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 3 

So a change in government affects the habits of a people but 
slowly in any case, and it may leave them quite unaltered. 

This tendency of mankind to do, in general, this year what The unity 01 
it did last, in spite of changes in some one department of life, — hStory * y ° 
such as substituting a president for a king, traveling by rail in- 
stead of on horseback, or getting the news from a newspaper 
instead of from a neighbor, — results in what is called the unity 
or continuity of history. The truth that no sudden change has 
ever taken place in all the customs of a people, and that it can- 
not, in the nature of things, take place, is perhaps the most 
fundamental lesson that history teaches. 

Historians sometimes seem to forget this principle, when they General 
undertake to begin and end their books at precise dates. We nouSuror 
find histories of Europe from 476 to 918, from 1270 to 1492, fixed dates 
as if the accession of a capable German king in 918, or the 
death of a famous French king in 1270, or the discovery of 
America in 1492, marked a general change in European affairs. 
In reality, how r ever, no general change took place at these dates 
or in any other single year. It would doubtless have proved a 
great convenience to the readers and writers of history if the 
world had agreed to carry out a definite program and alter its 
habits at precise dates, preferably at the opening of each cen- 
tury. But no such agreement has ever been adopted, and the 
historical student must take things as he finds them. He must 
recognize that nations retain their old customs while they adopt 
new ones, and that a small portion of a nation may advance 
while the greater part of it stays behind. 

We cannot, therefore, hope to fix any year or event which may Meaning of 
properly be taken as the beginning of that long period which "MiddE 
followed the break-up of the Roman Empire in western Europe Ages " 
and which is commonly called the Middle Ages. Beyond the 
northern and eastern boundaries of the Roman Empire, which 
embraced the whole civilized world from the Euphrates to Britain, 
mysterious peoples moved about whose history before they came 
into occasional contact with the Romans is practically unknown. 



\ 



4 1 / AFcdicvahaim Modern Times 

\ 

These Germans, or " barbarians," as the Romans called them, 

were destined to put an end to the Roman Empire in western 
Europe. They had first begun to make trouble about a hundred 
years before Christ, when a great army of them was defeated by 
the Roman general Marius. Julius Caesar naVrates in polished 
Latin, familiar to all who begin the study of that language, how 
fifty years later he drove back other bands. Five hundred years 
elapsed, however, before German chieftains succeeded in found- 
ing kingdoms within the boundaries of the Empire. With their 
establishment the Roman government in western Europe may be 
said to have come to an end and the Middle Ages to have begun. 

Yet it would be a great mistake to suppose that this means 
that the Roman civilization suddenly disappeared at this time. 
Long before the German conquest, art and literature had begun 
to decline toward the level that they reached in the Middle Ages. 
Many of the ideas and conditions which prevailed after the com- 
ing of the barbarians were common enough before. Even the 
ignorance and strange ideas which we associate particularly with 
the Middle Ages are to be found in the later Roman Empire. 

The term " Middle Ages " will be used in this volume to 
mean, roughly speaking, the period of over a thousand years 
that elapsed between the fifth century, when the disorder of the 
barbarian invasions was becoming general, and the opening t>f 
the sixteenth century, when Europe was well on its way to recover 
all that had been lost since the break-up of the Roman Empire. 

The Roman Empire and its Government 

2. Before we begin our study of the history of western 
Europe since the break-up of the Roman Empire we must stop 
to consider briefly the way in which people were living before 
the German leaders succeeded in establishing their kingdoms. 

At the opening of the fifth century there were no separate, 
independent states in western Europe such as we find on the map 
to-day. The whole area now occupied by England, France, Spain, 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 5 

and Italy formed at that time only a part of the vast realms ruled 
over by the Roman emperor and his host of officials. As for 
Germany, most of it was still familiar only to the' half-savage 
tribes who inhabited it. The Romans had tried in vain to con- 
quer this part of Europe, but finally had to content themselves 
with keeping the German hordes out of the Empire by means 
of fortifications and guards along the Rhine and Danube rivers. 




Fig. 1. Roman Aqueduct near Nimes 

This structure was built by the Romans about the year 20 a.d. to 
supply the Roman colony of Nemausus (now called Nimes) in south- 
ern France with water from two excellent springs twenty-five miles 
distant. It is nearly 900 feet long and 160 feet high, and carried the 
water over the valley of the river Gard. The channel for the water is 
at the very top, and one can still walk through it. The miles of aque- 
duct on either side of this bridge have almost disappeared 



within the 
Empire 



The Roman Empire, which embraced southern and western Great diver- 
Europe, western Asia, and even the northern portion of Africa f^ude!? 06 
(see map), included the most diverse peoples and races. Egyp- 
tians, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Italians, Gauls, Britons, Iberians, — 
all alike were under the sovereign rule of Rome. One great 
state embraced the nomad shepherds who spread their tents on 
the borders of Sahara, the mountaineers in the fastnesses of 



Met Hex \il and Modem Times 



The Roman 
government 
attempted to 
regulate 
everything 



Wales, and the citizens of Athens, Alexandria, and Rome, heirs 
to all the luxury and learning of the ages. Whether one lived 
in York or Jerusalem, Memphis or Vienna, he paid his taxes 
into the same treasury, he was tried by the same law, and looked 
to the same armies for protection. 

At first it seems incredible that this huge Empire, which in- 
cluded African and Asiatic peoples as well as the most various 
races of Europe in all stages of civilization, could have held 
together for five centuries instead of falling to pieces, as might 
have been expected, long before the barbarians came in sufficient 
strength to establish their own kingdoms in its midst. 

When, however, we consider the bonds of union which held 
the state together, it is easy to understand why the Empire en- 
dured so long. These were (i) the wonderfully organized gov- 
ernment with its officials in every part of the realm, watching 
everything and allowing nothing to escape them ; (2) the wor- 
ship of the head of the Empire, the emperor; (3) the hardy 
legions of soldiers who had made Rome's conquests and could be 
used to put down revolt and keep out the barbarians ; (4) the 
Roman law in force everywhere ; (5) the admirable roads, which 
enabled the soldiers to march quickly from place to place ; and, 
lastly, (6) the Roman colonies and the teachers sent out by the 
government, for through them the same ideas and ways of doing 
things were carried to even the most distant parts of the Empire. 

Let us first glance at the government and the emperor. His 
decrees were dispatched throughout the length and breadth of 
the Roman dominions ; whatsoever pleased him became law, 
according to the well-known principle of the Roman constitution. 
While the cities were permitted some freedom in the manage- 
ment of their own affairs, the emperor and his innumerable of- 
ficials kept an eye upon even the humblest citizen. The Roman 
government, besides keeping order, settling law cases, and de- 
fending the boundaries, assumed many other responsibilities. 
It watched the grain dealers, butchers, and bakers, and saw to 
it that they properly supplied the public ana* never deserted their 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 7 

occupation. In some cases it forced the son to follow the profes- 
sion of his father. If it could have had its way, it would have had 
ever}' one belong to a definite class of society, and his children 
after him. It kept the unruly poorer classes in the towns quiet 
by furnishing them with bread, and sometimes with wine, meat, 
and clothes. It provided amusement for them by expensive en- 
tertainments, such as races and gladiatorial combats (see Fig. 3). 
In a word, the Roman government was not only wonderfully 
organized, so that its power was felt throughout its whole ex- 
tent, but it attempted to regulate almost every interest in life. 

Every one was required to join in the worship of the emperor The worship 
because he stood for the majesty and glory of the Roman domin- ° e ^ ei 
ion. The inhabitants of each province might revere their partic- 
ular gods, undisturbed by the government, but all were obliged, 
as good citizens, to join in the official sacrifices to the head of 
the State, as if he were a god. The early Christians were perse- 
cuted, not only because their religion was different from that of 
their fellows, but because they refused to reverence the images 
of the emperor, and openly prophesied the downfall of the 
Roman State. Their religion seemed incompatible with good 
citizenship, since it forbade them to show the usual respect for 
the government. 

As there was one government, so there was one law for all The Roman 
the civilized world. The same principles of reason, justice, and 
humanity were believed to hold whether the Roman citizen lived 
upon the Euphrates or the Thames. The law of the Roman 
Empire is its chief legacy to posterity. Its provisions are still 
in force in many of the states of Europe to-day, and it is one of 
the subjects of study in our American universities. Wives and 
children were protected from the cruelty of the head of the 
house, who, in earlier centuries, had been privileged to treat 
the members of his family as slaves. The law held that it was 
better that a guilty person should escape than that an innocent 
person should be condemned. It conceived mankind, not as a 
group of nations and tribes, each with its own laws, but as one 



8 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Roads 



Colonies, 
public 

buildings 



people included in one great empire and subject to a single 
system of law based upon fairness and reason. 

Magnificent roads were constructed, which enabled the mes- 
sengers of the government and its armies to reach every part 
of the Empire with what at that time seemed incredible speed. 

gg* 



Plaint 



-iff 



''^zm^w^m. 



Fig. 2. Roman Bridge at St. Chamas 

This Roman bridge with its handsome portals, at St. Chamas in southern 

France, was built in the time of the Emperor Augustus ; that is, about 

the beginning of the Christian era 

These highways made trade comparatively easy and encouraged 
merchants and travelers to visit the most distant portions of the 
realm. Everywhere they found the same coins and the same 
system of weights and measures. 

Colonies were sent out to the confines of the Empire, and 
the remains of great public buildings, of theaters and bridges, 
of sumptuous villas and baths at places like Treves, Cologne, 
Bath, and Salzburg, indicate how thoroughly the influence and 
civilization of Rome penetrated to the utmost parts of the terri- 
tory subject to her rule. The illustrations in this chapter will 
show what wonderfully fine towns the Roman colonies were. 

The government encouraged education by supporting at least 
three teachers in every town of any considerable importance. 
They taught rhetoric and oratory and explained the works of the 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 9 

great Latin and Greek writers, so that an educated man was The same 
pretty sure to find, even in the outlying parts of the great throughout 
Empire, other educated men with much the same interests and g^ 1 ^" 13 " 
ideas as his own. Everywhere men felt themselves to be not mere 
natives of this or that country but citizens of the Roman world. 




Fig. 3. Roman Amphitheater at Pola 

Every large Roman town had a vast arena, or amphitheater, in which 
thousands of spectators could be seated to watch the public fights 
between professional swordsmen (gladiators) and between men and 
wild beasts. The emperors and rich men paid the expenses of these 
combats. The greatest of these arenas was the Coliseum at Rome. 
The one here represented shows that a Roman town of perhaps 40,000 
inhabitants was supplied with an amphitheater, holding no less than 
20,000 spectators, who must have assembled from all the region around. 
The seats have disappeared ; only the outside walls remain 

During the four centuries from the first emperor, Augustus, Loyalty to 
to the barbarian invasions we hear of no attempt on the part of an ^ convict 
its subjects to overthrow the Empire or to withdraw from it. 
The Roman State, it was universally believed, was to endure 
forever. Had a rebellious nation succeeded in throwing off the 
rule of the emperor and in establishing its independence, it would 
simply have placed itself outside the civilized world. 



tion that it 
was eternal 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Weaknesses of the Roman Empire 

3. Just why the Roman government, long so powerful and 
so universally respected, finally became unable longer to defend 
its borders, and gave way before the scattered attacks of the 
German peoples, who never combined in any general alliance 
against it, is a very difficult question to answer satisfactorily. 




rr- 



Fig. 4. Roman Temple at Nimes 

This beautiful temple at Nimes, France, was probably built about the 
year one of the Christian era. It was situated in the forum with other 
public buildings which have now disappeared. After the break-up of 
the Roman Empire it was used as a Christian church, then as a town 
hall, then as a warehouse, and finally as a stable. In 1824 it was restored 
to its original condition as we now find it 

We know very little about the times, because the accounts that 
have come down to us give us no reasons why things happened 
as they did, and the best we can do is to see what were the 
conditions in the Empire when the Germans invaded it. 

The Roman government was in some respects very strong and 
well organized, but there was no satisfactory way of choosing 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 1 1 

a new emperor. No candidate could secure the election unless civil wars 
he was supported by the army, and the soldiers in the various elections of 
parts of the Empire often proposed different men for whom tne em P erors 
they were willing to fight. Civil war would then follow, which 
would come to a close only when one candidate succeeded in 
getting the better of all his rivals. This brought about frequent 
disorder, which did its part in weakening the Empire. 

It required a great deal of money to support the luxurious Oppressive 
palaces of the emperors at Rome and Constantinople with their 
innumerable officials and servants, and to supply " bread and 
circuses " for the populace of the towns. All sorts of taxes and 
exactions were consequently devised by ingenious officials to 
make up the necessary revenue. The crushing burden of the 
great land tax, the emperor's chief source of income, was greatly 
increased by the bad way in which it was collected. The gov- 
ernment made a group of the richer citizens in each of the 
towns permanently responsible for the whole amount due each 
year from all the landowners within their district. It was their 
business to collect the taxes and make up any deficiency, it 
mattered not from what cause. 

This responsibility, together with the weight of the taxes 
themselves, ruined so many landowners that the government was 
forced to decree that no one should desert his estates in order to 
escape the exactions. Only the very rich could stand the drain on 
their resources. The middle class sank into poverty and despair, 
and in this way the Empire lost just that prosperous class of 
citizens who should have been the leaders in business enterprises. 

The sad plight of the poorer laboring classes was largely due Slavery 
to the terrible institution of slavery which prevailed everywhere 
in ancient times. When the Romans conquered a new region 
they were in the habit, in accordance with the customs of war, 
of reducing a considerable part of the inhabitants to slavery. 
In this way the number of slaves was constantly increased. 
There were millions of them. A single rich landholder might 
own hundreds and even thousands, and it was a poor man that 



12 



Medieval and Modern Times 



did not have several at least. For six or seven centuries before 
the barbarian invasions every kind of labor fell largely into 
their hands in both country and town. 
The villa Land was the only highly esteemed form of wealth in the 

Roman Empire, in spite of the heavy taxes imposed upon it. 
Without large holdings of land no one could hope to enjoy a 
high social position or an honorable office under the government. 
Consequently the land came gradually into the hands of the rich 
and ambitious, and the small landed proprietor disappeared. 
Great estates called "villas" covered Italy, Gaul, and Britain. 




Fig. 5. Roman Baths at Bath 

There are hot springs at Bath, England, and here the Roman colonists 
in Britain developed a fashionable watering place. In recent years 
the soil and rubbish which had through the centuries collected over 
the old Roman buildings has been removed and we can get some idea 
of how they were arranged. The picture represents a model of a part 
of the ruins. To the right is a great quadrangular pool, 83 by 40 feet 
in size, and to the left a circular bath. Over the whole, a fine hall was 
built, with recesses on either side of the big pool where one might sit 
and talk with his friends 



These villas were cultivated and managed by armies of slaves, 
who not only tilled the land, but supplied their master, his house- 
hold, and themselves with much that was needed on the planta- 
tion. The workmen among them made the tools, garments, and 
other manufactured articles necessary for the whole community, 
or " family," as it was called. Slaves cooked the food, waited on 



Western liu rope before the Barbarian Invasions 13 

the proprietor, wrote his letters, read to him, and entertained 
him in other ways. Although a villa might be as extensive as 
a large village, all its members were under the absolute control 
of the proprietor of the estate. 

Quite naturally, free men scorned to work with their hands slavery 
or even to carry on retail business, for these occupations were intodisreputc 
associated in their minds with the despised slave. 







Fig. 6. Roman Gate at Treves 

Colonia Augusta Treverorum (now called Trier or Treves) was one of 
the chief Roman colonies on the German boundaries of the Empire. 
The Roman emperors often resided there, and the remains of their 
palace are still to be seen. The great gate here represented was de- 
signed to protect the entrance of the town, which was surrounded 
with a wall, for the Romans were in constant danger of attack from the 
neighboring German tribes. One can also see at Treves the remains 
of a vast amphitheater in which on two occasions Constantine had 
several thousand German prisoners cast to be killed by wild animals 
for the amusement of the spectators. (Cf. Fig. 3.) 



14 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Competition 
of slaves 
fatal to the 
free man 



Improved 
condition of 
the slaves 
and their 
emancipation 



Contrast be- 
tween freed- 
men and 
free men 



The coloni 



Each great household where articles of luxury were in de- 
mand relied upon its own host of skillful slaves to produce them. 
Moreover, the owners of slaves frequently hired them out to 
those who needed workmen, or permitted them to work for 
wages, and in this way left little for the free man to do even 
if he was willing to work. 

It cannot be denied that a notable improvement in the 
condition of slaves took place during the centuries immediately 
preceding the barbarian invasions. Their owners abandoned 
the horrible subterranean prisons in which the farm hands had 
once been miserably huddled at night. The law, moreover, pro- 
tected the slave from some of the worst forms of abuse ; first 
and foremost, it deprived his master of the right to kill him. 

Slaves began to decrease in numbers before the German 
invasions. In the first place, the supply had been cut off after 
the Roman armies ceased to conquer new territory. In the 
second place, masters began to free their slaves on a large 
scale, — for what reasons we do not know. When a slave was 
freed he was called a.freedman, but he was by no means in the 
position of one who had been born free. It was true that he 
was no longer a mere thing that could be bought and sold, but 
he had still to serve his former master, — who had now become 
his patron, — for a certain number of days in the year. He 
was obliged to pay him a part of his earnings and could not 
marry without his patron's consent. 

But, as the condition of the slaves improved, and many of 
them became freedmen, the state of the poor free man only 
became worse. In the towns, if he tried to earn his living, he 
was forced to mingle with those slaves who were permitted to 
work for wages and with the freedmen, and he naturally tended 
to sink to their level. 

In the country the free agricultural laborers became coloni, 
a curious intermediate class, neither slave nor really free. They 
were bound to the particular bit of land which some great 
proprietor permitted them to cultivate, and remained attached 



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1 6 Medieval a?id Modern Times 

Resemblance to it if it changed hands. Like the medieval serf, 1 they could 
!■'/ wancfthe not be deprived of their fields so long as they paid the owner 
later serfs a cer tain part of their crop and worked for him during a period 
fixed by the customs of the estate upon which they lived. This 
system made it impossible for the farmer to become really inde- 
pendent, or for his son to become better off than he. 
Depopuia- When a country is prosperous the population tends to increase. 

In the Roman Empire, even as early as Augustus, a falling off 
in numbers was apparent, which was bound to weaken the State. 
War, plague, the evil results of slavery, and the outrageous 
taxation all combined to hasten the depopulation ; for when it 
is hard to make a living, men are deterred from marrying and 
find it difficult to bring up large families, 
infiltration of In order to replenish the population great numbers of the 
th^Empire ° neighboring German tribes were encouraged to settle within 
the Empire, where they became coloni. Constantine is said to 
have called in three hundred thousand of a single people. Bar- 
barians were enlisted in the Roman legions to help keep out 
their fellow Germans. Julius Cassar was the first to give them 
a place among his soldiers. This custom became more and more 
common, until, finally, whole armies were German, entire tribes 
being enlisted under their own chiefs. Some of the Germans 
rose to be distinguished generals ; others attained important 
positions as officials of the government. In this way it came 
about that a great many of the inhabitants of the Roman Empire 
were Germans before the great invasions, and the line divid- 
ing the citizens of the Roman Empire and the barbarian was 
already growing indistinct. 
Decline of As the Empire declined in strength and prosperity and was 

and an^ gradually permeated by the barbarians, its art and literature 
fell far below the standard of the great writers and artists of 
the golden age of Augustus. Cicero's clear style lost its charm 
for the readers of the fourth and fifth centuries, and a flowery 
kind of rhetoric took its place. No more great men of letters 

1 See below, section 20. 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions \J 

arose. Few of those who understand and enjoy Latin literature 
to-day would think of reading any of the poetry or prose written 
in the later centuries of the Roman Empire. 

During the three hundred years before the invasions those Reliance 
who studied at all did not ordinarily take the trouble to read the "J^bo'oks 6 
best books of the earlier Greek and Roman writers, but relied 
upon mere collections of quotations, and got their information 
from textbooks. 

These textbooks the Middle Ages inherited and continued to 
use. The great Greek writers were forgotten altogether, and 
only a few of the better known Latin authors like Cicero, Virgil, 
and Ovid continued to be copied and read. 

The Rise of the Christian Church 

4. We have still to consider the most important thing that Religious 
happened in the Roman Empire on the eve of its break-up, Greeks and C 
and that is the establishment of the new Christian religion. The Romans 
common people among the Greeks and Romans had always 
believed in a great many gods and had held that the souls of 
men continued after death to exist in the lower regions, but 
they thought of the life to come as a dreary existence much less 
interesting than that in this world. Many of the philosophers, 
however, had come to believe in a great and good God who 
ruled all things and whom it was man's duty to obey. Plato 
and Cicero, for example, held that good men would be rewarded 
in the next world and bad men punished. 

Christianity brought with it hope for all kinds of weary and The appeal of 
discouraged men and women. It proclaimed that God was their 
father, that he had sent his son to save them, and that if they 
believed in Christ and tried their best to lead a good life, their 
sins would be forgiven them, and after death they would find 
everlasting happiness in heaven. 

The first Christians looked for the speedy return of Christ 
before their own generation should pass away. Since all were 



18 



Medieval and Modern Times 



filled with enthusiasm for the Gospel and eagerly awaited the 
last day, they did not feel the need for much organization. But 
as time went on the Christian communities greatly increased in 
size, and many persons joined them who had little or none of 
the original earnestness and religion. It became necessary to 
develop a regular system of church government in order to con- 
trol the sinful and expel those who brought disgrace upon their 
religion by notoriously bad conduct. 

Gradually the followers of Christ came to believe in a " Cath- 
olic " — that is, a universal — Church which embraced all the 
groups of true believers in Christ, wherever they might be. To 
this one universal Church all must belong who hoped to be saved. 1 

A sharp distinction was already made between the officers of 
the Church, who were called the clergy, and the people, or laity. 
To the clergy was committed the government of the Church 
as well as the teaching of its members. In each of the Roman 
cities was a bishop, and at the head of the country communities, 
a priest, who had derived his name from the original elders 
mentioned in the New Testament. 2 It was natural that the 
bishops in the chief towns of the Roman provinces should be 
especially influential in church affairs. They came to be called 
archbishops, and might summon the bishops of the province to 
a council to decide important matters. 

In 3 1 1 the Roman emperor Galerius issued a decree placing 
the Christian religion upon the same legal footing as the worship 
of the Roman gods. His successor, Constantine, the first Chris- 
tian emperor, strictly enforced this edict. Constantine's succes- 
sors soon forbade the worship of the old pagan gods and began 
to issue laws which gave the Christian clergy important privileges. 



1 " Whoever separates himself from the Church," writes St. Cyprian (died 
258) " is separated from the promises of the Church. ... He is an alien, he is pro- 
fane, he is an enemy ; he can no longer have God for his father who has not the 
Church for his mother. If anyone could escape who was outside the Ark of 
Noah, so also may he escape who shall be outside the bounds of the Church." 
See Readings in European History, chap. ii. 

2 Our word " priest " comes from the Latin word presbyter, meaning " elder." 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 19 

In the last book of the Theodosian Code, — a great collection The Church 
of the laws of the Empire, which was completed in 438, — all dciian Code 
the emperors' decrees are to be found which relate to the Chris- 
tian Church and the clergy. We find that the clergy, in view of 
their holy duties, were exempted from certain burdensome gov- 
ernment offices and from some of the taxes which the laity had 
to pay. They were also permitted to receive bequests. The 
emperors themselves built churches and helped the Church in 
many ways (see below, section 10). Their example was fol- 
lowed by rulers and private individuals all through the Middle 
Ages, so that the Church became incredibly wealthy and en- 
joyed a far greater income than any state of Europe. The 
clergy were permitted to try certain law cases, and they them- 
selves had the privilege of being tried in their own church courts 
for minor criminal offenses. 

The Theodosian Code makes it unlawful for any one to differ Heresy 
from the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Those who dared to L U ™?J1 
disagree with the teachings of the Church were called heretics. 
If heretics ventured to come together, their meetings were to be 
broken up and the teachers heavily fined. Houses in which the 
doctrines of the heretics were taught were to be confiscated by 
the government. The books containing their teachings were to 
be sought out with the utmost care and burned under the eyes 
of the magistrate ; and if any one was convicted of concealing 
a heretical book, he was to suffer capital punishment. 

It is clear, then, that very soon after the Christian Church 
was recognized by the Roman government it induced the em- 
perors to grant the clergy particular favors, to destroy the 
pagan temples and prohibit pagan worship, and, finally, to 
persecute all those who ventured to disagree with the orthodox 
teachings of the Church. 

We shall find that the governments in the Middle Ages, fol- 
lowing the example of the Roman emperors, continued to grant 
the clergy special privileges and to persecute heretics, often in 
a very cruel manner (see below, section 39). 



as crime 



20 



Medieval and Modem Times 



In these provisions of the Theodosian Code the later medie- 
val Church is clearly foreshadowed. The imperial government 
in the West was soon overthrown by the barbarian conquerors, 
but the Catholic Church converted and ruled these conquerors. 
When the officers of the Empire deserted their posts, the bishops 
stayed to meet the oncoming invader. They continued to rep- 
resent the old civilization and ideas of order. It was the Church 
that kept the Latin language alive among those who knew only 
a rude German dialect. It was the Church that maintained some 
little education even in the times of greatest ignorance, for with- 
out the ability to read Latin the priests could not have performed 
the religious services and the bishops could not have carried on 
their correspondence with one another. 

The Eastern Empire 



5. Although the Roman Empire remained one in law, gov- 
ernment, and culture until the Germans came in sufficient force 
to conquer the western portions of it, a tendency may never- 
theless be noticed some time before the barbarian conquest for 
the eastern and western portions to drift apart. Constantine, 
who established his supremacy only after a long struggle with 
his rivals, hoped to strengthen the vast state by creating a 
second capital, which should lie far to the east and dominate a 
region very remote from Rome. Constantinople was accord- 
ingly founded in 330 on the confines of Europe and Asia. 1 
There were Thereafter there were often two emperors, one in the west 

often two j • i 1 1 i 

emperors but and one in the east, but they were supposed to govern one em- 
EmpirT P ire con J°i nt ty an d in " unanimity." New laws were to be ac- 

cepted by both. The writers of the time do not speak of two 
states but continue to refer to " the Empire," as if the adminis- 
tration were still in the hands of one ruler. Indeed, the idea of 

1 Constantine built his new capital on the site of an old town, Byzantium 
which he re-named after himself, Constantinople, that is, Constantine City. The 
adjective " Byzantine " applied to the eastern part of the Roman Empire is of 
course derived from the older name " Byzantium." 



Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 21 

one government for all civilized mankind did not disappear but 
continued to influence men during the whole of the Middle Ages. 

Although it was in the eastern part of. the Empire that the Eastern Em- 
barbarians first got a permanent foothold, the emperors at Con- [^1453 S 
stantinople were able to keep a portion of the old possessions of 
the Empire under their rule for centuries after the Germans had 
completely conquered the West. When at last the eastern capital 
of the Empire fell, it was not into the hands of the Germans, 
but into those of the Turks, who have held it ever since 1453. 

There will be no room in this volume to follow the history of Constanti- 

the Eastern Empire, although it cannot be entirely ignored in m^t^ wealthy 

studying western Europe. Its language and civilization had ^^EurcTe 

always been Greek, and owing to this and the influence of during the 
1 A ••••!• • rr it 1 r t ear ty Middle 

the Orient, its civilization offers a marked contrast to that of the Ages 

Latin West, which was adopted by the Germans. Learning 
never died out in the East as it did in the West, nor did art 
reach so low an ebb. For some centuries after the break-up of 
the Roman Empire in the West, the capital of the Eastern 
Empire enjoyed the distinction of being the largest and most 
wealthy city of Europe. Within its walls could be found a re- 
finement and civilization which had almost disappeared in the 
West, and its beautiful buildings, its parks and paved streets, 
filled travelers from the West with astonishment. 

QUESTIONS 

Section i. What do you consider the chief uses of studying his- 
tory ? Give examples of events, conditions, and institutions in our 
own time. Why is it impossible to divide the past into distinct 
periods? What is meant by the continuity of history? What were 
the Middle Ages ? 

Section 2. Mention some of the peoples included in the bounds 
of the Roman Empire. What were the bonds that held the vast 
Roman Empire together? How far is it from York to Babylon? 
What can you tell about the Roman government and the Roman 
law ? What kinds of public buildings were to be found in a flourish- 
ing Roman colony? 



22 Medieval and Modern Times 

Section 3. What troubles did the Roman method of raising taxes 
produce? Describe a Roman villa. What is a slave? What was 
the difference between a freedman and a free man? Compare the 
condition of the slaves with that of the coloni in the later Roman 
Empire. 

Section 4. Compare the religious beliefs of the pagans with 
those of the Christians. What privileges are granted to the Christian 
clergy in the Theodosian Code ? Define heresy ; how were heretics 
treated according to the Roman law? 

Section 5. How did Constantinople happen to be founded? 
What can you say about the Eastern Empire ? 




CHAPTER II 

THE GERMAN INVASIONS AND THE BREAK-UP OF THE 
ROMAN EMPIRE 

Founding of Kingdoms by Barbarian Chiefs 



6. Previous to the year 375 the attempts of the Germans to The Huns 
penetrate into the Roman Empire appear to have been due to Goths into 
their love of adventure, their hope of plundering their civilized the Em P ire 
neighbors, or the need of new lands for their increasing num- 
bers. And the Romans, by means of their armies, their walls, 
and their guards, had up to this time succeeded in preventing 
the barbarians from violently occupying Roman territory. But 
suddenly a new force appeared in the rear of the Germans 
which thrust some of them across the northern boundary of the 
Empire. The Huns, a Mongolian folk from central Asia, swept 
down upon the Goths, who were a German tribe settled upon 
the Danube, and forced a part of them to seek shelter across 
the river, within the limits of the Empire. 

Here they soon fell out with the Roman officials, and a great Battle of 
battle was fought at Adrianople in 378 in which the Goths 378 nanop e ' 
defeated and slew the Roman emperor, Valens. The Germans 

2 3 . 



24 Medieval and Modern Times 

had now not only broken through the boundaries of the Empire, 
but they had also learned that they could defeat the Roman 
legions. The battle of Adrianople may therefore be said to 
mark the beginning of the conquest of the western part of the 
Empire by the Germans. For some years, however, after the 
battle of Adrianople the various bands . of West Goths — or 
Visigoths, as they are often called — were induced to accept the 
terms of peace offered by the emperor's officials, and some of 
the Goths agreed to serve as soldiers in the Roman armies. 

Among the Germans who succeeded in getting an important 
position in the Roman army was Alaric, but he appears to have 
become dissatisfied with the treatment he received from the 
emperor. He therefore collected an army, of which his country- 
men, the West Goths, formed a considerable part, and set out 
for Italy, and finally decided to march on Rome itself. The 
Eternal City fell into his hands in 410 and was plundered by 
his followers. 

Although Alaric did not destroy the city, or even seriously 
damage it, the fact that Rome had fallen into the hands of an 
invading army was a notable disaster. The pagans explained it 
on the ground that the old gods were angry because so many 
people had deserted them and become Christians. St. Augustine, 
in his famous book, The City of God, took much pains to prove 
that the Roman gods had never been able on previous occasions 
to prevent disaster to their worshipers, and that Christianity could 
not be held responsible for the troubles of the time. 

Alaric died before he could find a satisfactory spot for his 
people to settle upon permanently. After his death the West 
Goths wandered into Gaul, and then into Spain. Here they 
came upon the Vandals, another German tribe, who had 
crossed the Rhine four years before Alaric had captured 
Rome. For three years they had devastated Gaul and then had 
moved down into Spain. For a time after the arrival in Spain of 
the West Goths, there was war between them and the Vandals. 
The West Goths seem to have got the best of their rivals, for 



The German Invasions 



25 



the Vandals determined to move on across the Strait of Gibraltar 
into northern Africa, where they established a kingdom and con- 
quered the neigh- 
boring islands in the 
Mediterranean (see 
map, p. 29). 

Having rid them- 
selves of the Van- 
dals, the West Goths 
took possession of a 
great part of the Span- 
ish peninsula, and 
this they added to 
their conquests across 
the Pyrenees in Gaul, 
so that their kingdom 
extended from the 
river Loire to the 
Strait of Gibraltar. 

It is unnecessary 
to follow the con- 
fused history of the 
movements of the 
innumerable bands 
of restless barbari- 
ans who wandered 
about Europe dur- 
ing the fifth century. 



Kingdom of 
the Vandals 

in Africa 




K>i§l§ii 
wmmm 




Fig. 8. Roman Mausoleum at St. Remy 



Scarcely any part The Roman town of Glanum (now called St. 

of western Europe ^mtf in southern France was destroyed by 

r the YY est Goths in 480. Little remains of the 

was left unmolested 



even Britain was con- 
quered by German 
tribes, the Angles 
and Saxons. 



town except a triumphal arch and the great 
monument pictured here. Above the main 
arches is the inscription, SEX. L. M. IVLIEI. 
C. F. PARENTIBUS. SVEIS, which seems to 
mean " Sextus Julius and [his brothers] Lucius 
and Marcus, sons of Gaius, to their parents " 



26 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Attila and 
the Huns 



The " fall " of 
the Empire 
in the West, 
476 



Odoacer 



Theodoric 
conquers 
Odoacer and 
establishes 
the kingdom 
of the East 
Goths in 
Italy 



To add to the universal confusion caused by the influx of the 
German tribes, the Huns (the Mongolian people who had first 
pushed the West Goths into the Empire) now began to fill all 
western Europe with terror. Under their chief, Attila, this sav- 
age people invaded Gaul But the Romans and the German 
inhabitants joined together against the invaders and defeated 
them in the battle of Chalons, in 45 1 . After this rebuff in Gaul, 
Attila turned to Italy. But the danger there was averted by a 
Roman embassy, headed by Pope Leo the Great, who induced 
Attila to give up his plan of marching upon Rome. Within a 
year he died and with him perished the power of the Huns, 
who never troubled Europe again. 

The year 476 has commonly been taken as the date of the 
" fall " of the Western Empire and of the beginning of the 
Middle Ages. What happened in that year was this. Most of 
the Roman emperors in the West had proved weak and indolent 
rulers. So the barbarians wandered hither and thither pretty 
much at their pleasure, and the German troops in the service 
of the Empire became accustomed to set up and depose 
emperors to suit their own special interest, very much in the 
same way that a boss in an American city often succeeds in 
securing the election of a mayor who will carry out his wishes. 
Finally in 476, Odoacer, the most powerful among the rival 
German generals in Italy, banished the last of the emperors of 
the West and ruled in his stead. 1 

It was not, however, given to Odoacer to establish an endur- 
ing German kingdom on Italian soil, for he was conquered by 
the great Theodoric, the king of the East Goths (or Ostro- 
goths). Theodoric had spent ten years of his early youth in 
Constantinople and had thus become familiar with Roman life 
and was on friendly terms with the emperor of the East. 

The struggle between Theodoric and Odoacer lasted for sev- 
eral years, but Odoacer was finally shut up in Ravenna and 



1 The common misapprehensions in regard to the events of 476 are discussed 
by the author in The New History, pp. 1 54 ff . 



The Gentian Invasions 



27 



surrendered, only to be treacherously slain a few days later by 
Theodoric's own hand (493). 

Theodoric put the name of the emperor at Constantinople The East 
on the coins which he issued, and did everything in his power f^ s in 
to gain the emperor's approval of the new German kingdom. 




Fig. 9. Church of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo 

This church was erected at Ravenna by Theodoric. Although the out- 
side has been changed, the interior, here represented, remains much 
the same as it was originally. The twenty-four marble columns were 
brought from Constantinople. The wails are adorned with mosaics; 
that is, pictures made by piecing together small squares of brightly 
colored marbles or glass 

Nevertheless, although he desired that the emperor should 
sanction his usurpation, Theodoric had no idea of being really 
subordinate to Constantinople. 

The invaders took one third of the land for themselves, but 
this seems to have been done without causing any serious dis- 
order. Theodoric greatly admired the Roman laws and insti- 
tutions and did his best to preserve them. The old offices and 
titles were retained, and Goth and Roman lived under the same 
Roman law. Order was maintained and learning encouraged. In 



28 Medieval and Modern Times 

Ravenna, which Theodoric chose for his capital, beautiful build- 
ings still exist that date from his reign. 1 

While Theodoric had been establishing his kingdom in Italy 
in this enlightened way, Gaul, which we now call France, was 
coming under the control of the most powerful of all the bar- 
barian peoples, the Franks, who were to play a more important 
role in the formation of modern Europe, than any of the other 
German races (see next section). 

Besides the kingdom of the East Goths in Italy and of the 
Franks in Gaul, the West Goths had their kingdom in Spain, 
the Burgundians had established themselves on the Rhone River, 
and the Vandals in Africa. Royal alliances were concluded be- 
tween the various reigning houses, and for the first time in the 
history of Europe we see something like a family of nations, 
living each within its own boundaries and dealing with one 
another as independent powers (see map). It seemed for a 
few years as if the new German kings who had divided up the 
western portion of the Empire among themselves would succeed 
in keeping order and in preventing the loss of such civilization 
as remained. 

But no such good fortune was in store for Europe, which 
was now only at the beginning of the turmoil which was to 
leave it almost completely barbarized, for there was little to 
encourage the reading or writing of books, the study of science, 
or attention to art, in a time of constant warfare and danger. 
Cassiodorus Theodoric had a distinguished Roman counselor named Cassi- 
manuals odorus (d. 575), to whose letters we owe a great part of our 

1 The headpiece of this chapter represents the tomb of Theodoric. Emperors 
and rich men were accustomed in Roman times to build handsome tombs for 
themselves (see Fig. 8). Theodoric followed their example and erected this two- 
storied building at Ravenna to serve as his mausoleum. The dome consists of a 
single great piece of rock 36 feet in diameter, weighing 500 tons, brought from 
across the Adriatic. Theodoric was a heretic in the eyes of the Catholic Church, 
and not long after his death his remains were taken out of his tomb and scattered 
to the winds, and the building converted into a^church. The picture represents 
the tomb as it probably looked originally ; it has been somewhat altered in modern 
times, but is well preserved. 




SCALE OF MILES 

6 ' 100 200 300 



Map of Europe in the Time of Theodoric 

It will be noticed that Theodoric's kingdom of the East Goths included 
a considerable part of what we call Austria to-day, and that the West 
Gothic kingdom extended into southern France. The Vandals held 
northern Africa and the adjacent islands. The Burgundians lay in be- 
tween the East Goths and the Franks. The Lombards, who were later 
to move down into Italy, were in Theodoric's time east of the Bavarians, 
after whom modern Bavaria is named. Some of the Saxons invaded 
England, but many remained in Germany, as indicated on the map. 
The Eastern Empire, which was all that remained of the Roman Empire, 
included the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, and the eastern portion of 
the Mediterranean. The Britons in Wales, the Picts in Scotland, and 
the Scots in Ireland were Celts, consequently modern Welsh, Gaelic, and 
Irish are closely related and belong to the Celtic group of languages 



-9 



30 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



Scarcely any 
writers in 
western 
Europe dur- 
ing the sixth, 
seventh, and 
eighth cen- 
turies 



Justinian 
destroys the 
kingdoms of 
the Vandals 
and the East 
Goths 



knowledge of this period, and who busied himself in his old age 
in preparing textbooks of the " liberal " arts and sciences, — 
grammar, arithmetic, logic, geometry, rhetoric, music, and as- 
tronomy. His treatment of these seven important subjects, to 
which he devotes a few pages each, seems to us very silly and 
absurd and enables us to estimate the low plane to which learn- 
ing had fallen in Italy in the sixth century. Yet these and similar 
works were regarded as standard treatises and used as textbooks 
all through the Middle Ages, while the really great Greek and 
Roman writers of an earlier period were forgotten. 

Between the time of Theodoric and that of Charlemagne 
three hundred years elapsed, during which scarcely a person 
was to be found who could write out, even in the worst of 
Latin, an account of the events of his day. 1 Everything con- 
spired to discourage education. The great centers of learning — 
Carthage, Rome, Alexandria, Milan — had all been partially 
destroyed by the invaders. The libraries which had been kept 
in the temples of the pagan gods were often burned, along 
with the temples themselves, by Christian enthusiasts, who 
were not sorry to see the heathen books disappear with the 
heathen religion. Shortly after Theodoric's death the emperor 
at Constantinople withdrew the support which the Roman gov- 
ernment had been accustomed to grant to public teachers, and 
closed the great school at Athens. The only important historian 
of the sixth century was the half-illiterate Gregory, bishop of 
Tours (d. 594), whose whole work is evidence of the sad state 
of affairs. He at least heartily appreciated his own ignorance 
and exclaims, in bad Latin, " Woe to our time, for the study of 
books has perished from among us." 

The year after Theodoric's death one of the greatest of the 
emperors of the East, Justinian (527-565), came to the throne 
at Constantinople. He undertook to regain for the Empire the 
provinces in Africa and Italy that had been occupied by the 
Vandals and East Goths. His general, Belisarius, overthrew 

1 See Readings, chap, iii (end), for historical writings of this period. 



The German Invasions 31 

the Vandal kingdom in northern Africa in 534, but it was a 
more difficult task to destroy the Gothic rule in .Italy. How- 
ever, in spite of a brave resistance, the Goths were so com- 
pletely defeated in 553 that they agreed to leave Italy with all 
their movable possessions. What became of the remnants of 
the race we do not know. 

The destruction of the Gothic kingdom was a disaster for The Lom- 
Italy, for the Goths would have helped defend it against later j^y 5 ° 
and far more barbarous invaders. Immediately after the death 
of Justinian the country was overrun by the Lombards, the 
last of the great German peoples to establish themselves within 
the bounds of the former Empire. They were a savage race, a 
considerable part of which was still pagan. The newcomers 
first occupied the region north of the Po, which has ever 
since been called " Lombardy " after them, and then extended 
their conquests southward. Instead of settling themselves with 
the moderation and wise statesmanship of the East Goths, the 
Lombards moved about the peninsula pillaging and massacring. 
Such of the inhabitants as could, fled to the islands off the 
coast. The Lombards were unable, however, to conquer all of 
Italy. Rome, Ravenna, and southern Italy continued to be held 
by the emperors who succeeded Justinian at Constantinople. 
As time went on, the Lombards lost their wildness and adopted 
the habits and religion of the people among whom they lived. 
Their kingdom lasted over two hundred years, until it was 
conquered by Charlemagne (see below, p. 80). 

Kingdom of the Franks 

7. The various kingdoms established by the German chief- The Franks; 
tains were not very permanent, as we have seen. The Franks, tanceand° r 
however, succeeded in conquering more territory than any other their m e th ° d 
people and in founding an empire far more important than the 
kingdoms of the West and East Goths, the Vandals, or the 
Lombards. We must now see how this was accomplished. 



Medieval and Modern Times 



When the Franks are first heard of in history they were set- 
tled along the lower Rhine, from Cologne to the North Sea. 
Their method of getting a foothold in the Empire was essen- 
tially different from that which 
the Goths, Lombards, and 
Vandals had adopted. Instead 
of severing their connection 
with Germany and becoming 
an island in the sea of the 
Empire, they conquered by de- 
grees the territory about them. 
However far they might ex- 
tend their control, they re- 
mained in constant touch with 
their fellow barbarians behind 
them. In this way they re- 
tained the warlike vigor that 
was lost by the races who 
were completely surrounded 
by the luxuries of Roman civil- 
ization. 

In the early part of the fifth 
century they had occupied the 
district which forms to-day 
the kingdom of Belgium, as 
well as the regions east of 
it. In 486, seven years before 
Theodoric founded his Italian 
kingdom, they went forth un- 
der their great king, Clovis 
(a name that later grew into 




Fig. 10. 



Frankish Warrior 



It is very hard to find illustrations 
for a chapter on the barbarian .in- 
vasions, for this period of disorder 
was not one in which pictures were 
being painted or buildings erected. 
From the slight descriptions we 
have of the costume -worn by the 
Frankish soldiers, we infer that it 
was something like that repre- 
sented here. We know that they 
wore their hair in long braids and 
carried weapons similar to those 
in the picture 



Louis), and defeated the 
Roman general who opposed them. They extended their control 
over Gaul as far south as the Loire, which at that time formed 
the northern boundary of the kingdom of the West Goths. 



rsion 
of Clovis, 496 



The German Invasions 33 

Clovis next enlarged his empire on the east by the conquest 
of the Alemanni, a German people living in the region of the 
Black Forest. 

The battle in which the Alemanni were defeated (496) is in Conve 
one respect important above all the other battles of Clovis. 
Although still a pagan himself, his wife had been converted to 
Christianity. In the midst of the battle, seeing his troops giving 
way, he called upon Jesus Christ and pledged himself to be 
baptized in his name if he would help the Franks to victory 
over their enemies. When he won the battle he kept his word 
and was baptized, together with three thousand of his warriors. 
It is from Bishop Gregory of Tours, mentioned above, that most 
of our knowledge of Clovis and his successors is derived. In 
Gregory's famous History of the Franks the cruel and unscrupu- 
lous Clovis appears as God's chosen instrument for the support 
of the Christian faith. 1 Certainly Clovis quickly learned to com- 
bine his own interests with those of the Church, and, later, an 
alliance between the pope and the Frankish kings was destined 
to have a great influence upon the history of western Europe. 

To the south of Clovis 's new possessions in Gaul lay the Conquests of 
kingdom of the West Goths ; to the southeast that of another 
German people, the Burgundians. Clovis speedily extended his 
power to the Pyrenees, and forced the West Goths to confine 
themselves to the Spanish portion of their realm, while the Bur- 
gundians soon fell completely under the rule of the Franks. 
Then Clovis, by a series of murders, brought portions of the 
Frankish nation itself, which had previously been independent 
of him, under his scepter. 

When Clovis died in 511 at Paris, which he had made his Bloody 
residence, his four sons divided his possessions among them. f Frankish 
Wars between rival brothers, interspersed with the most horrible hlstor y 
murders, fill the annals of the Frankish kingdom for over a hun- 
dred years after the death of Clovis. Yet the nation continued 
to develop in spite of the unscrupulous deeds of its rulers. 

1 See Readings, chap, iii, for passages from Gregory of Tours. 



34 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Extent of 
Frankish 
realms about 
560 



The Frankish kings who followed Clovis succeeded in ex- 
tending their power over pretty nearly all the territory that is 
included to-day in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as 
well as over a goodly portion of western Germany. Half a 
century after the death of Clovis, their dominions extended from 
the Bay of Biscay on the west to a point east of Salzburg. 




The Dominions of the Franks under the Merovingians 

This map shows how the Frankish kingdom grew up. Clovis while still 
a young man defeated the Roman general Syagrius in 486, near Sois- 
sons, and so added the region around Paris to his possessions. He 
added Alemannia on the east in 496. In 507 he made Paris his capital 
and conquered Aquitania, previously held by the West Goths. He also 
made a beginning in adding the kingdom of the Burgundians to his 
realms. He died in 511. His successors in the next half century com- 
pleted the conquest of Burgundy and added Provincia, Bavaria, and 
Gascony. There were many divisions of the Frankish realms after the 
time of Clovis, and the eastern and western portions, called Austrasia 
and Neustria, were often ruled by different branches of the Merovingians, 
as Clovis's family was called from his ancestor Meroveus 



The German Invasions 35 

Results of the Barbarian Invasions 

8. As one looks back over the German invasions it is natural Fusion of 
to ask upon what terms the newcomers lived among the old ^ns and the 
inhabitants of the Empire, how far they adopted the customs Roman popu- 
of those among whom they settled, and how far they clung to 
their old habits ? These questions cannot be answered very sat- 
isfactorily. So little is known of the confused period of which 
we have been speaking that it is impossible to follow closely 
the mixing of the two races. 

Yet a few things are tolerably clear. In the first place, we The number 
must be on our guard against exaggerating the numbers in the barians ™ 
various bodies of invaders. The writers of the time indicate 
that the West Goths, when they were first admitted to the 
Empire before the battle of Adrianople, amounted to four or 
five hundred thousand persons, including men, women, and chil- 
dren. This is the largest band reported, and it must have been 
greatly reduced before the West Goths, after long wanderings 
and many battles, finally settled in Spain and southern Gaul. The 
Burgundians, when they appear for the first time on the banks 
of the Rhine, are reported to have had eighty thousand warriors 
among them. When Clovis and his army were baptized, Gregory 
of Tours speaks of " over three thousand " soldiers who became 
Christians upon that occasion. This would seem to indicate 
that this was the entire army of the Frankish king at this time. 

Undoubtedly these figures are very meager and unreliable. 
But the readiness with which the Germans appear to have 
adopted the language and customs of the Romans would tend 
to prove that the invaders formed but a small minority of the 
population. Since hundreds of thousands of barbarians had 
been absorbed during the previous five centuries, the invasions 
of the fifth century can hardly have made an abrupt change in 
the character of the population. 

The barbarians within the old Empire were soon speaking the 
same conversational Latin which was everywhere used by the 



36 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Contrast be- 
tween spoken 
and written 
Latin 



The Ger- 
manic lan- 
guages 



No race 
antipathy 



The Roman 
and the 
German law 



Romans about them. This was much simpler than the elaborate 
and complicated language used in books, which we find so much 
difficulty in learning nowadays. The speech of the common peo- 
ple was gradually diverging more and more, in the various coun- 
tries of southern Europe, from the written Latin, and finally grew 
into French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. But the barba- 
rians did not produce this change, for it had begun before they 
came and would have gone on without them. They did no more 
than contribute a few convenient words to the new languages. 

The northern Franks, who did not penetrate far into the 
Empire, and the Germans who remained in what is now Ger- 
many and in Scandinavia, had of course no reason for giving 
up their native tongues ; the Angles and Saxons in Britain also 
kept theirs. These Germanic languages in time became Dutch, 
English, German, Danish, Swedish, etc. Of this matter some- 
thing will be said later (see below, section 47). 

The Germans and the older inhabitants of the Roman Empire 
appear to have had no dislike for one another, except when 
there was a difference in religion. 1 Where there was no religious 
barrier the two races intermarried freely from the first. The 
Frankish kings did not hesitate to appoint Romans to impor- 
tant positions in the government and in the army, just as the 
Romans had long been in the habit of employing the barbarians 
as generals and officials. In only one respect were the two 
races distinguished for a time — each had its particular law. 

The West Goths were probably the first to write down their 
ancient laws, using the Latin language for the purpose. Their 
example was followed by the Franks, the Burgundians, and later 
by the Lombards and other peoples. These codes make up the 
" Laws of the Barbarians," which form our most important 
source of knowledge of the habits and ideas of the Germans at 
the time of the invasions. For several centuries following the 



1 The West and East Goths and the Burgundians were heretics in the eyes 
of the Catholic Church, for they had been taught their Christianity by mission- 
aries who disagreed with the Catholic Church on certain points. 



The German Invasions 37 

barbarian conquests, the members of the various German tribes 
appear to have been judged by the laws of the particular people to 
which they belonged. The older inhabitants of the Empire, on 
the contrary, continued to have their lawsuits decided according 
to the Roman law. 

The German laws did not provide for trials, either in the Medieval 
Roman or the modern sense of the word. There was no attempt tna s 
to gather and weigh evidence and base the decision upon it. 
Such a mode of procedure was far too elaborate for the simple- 
minded Germans. Instead of a regular trial, one of the parties 
to the case was designated to prove that his side of the case was 
true by one of the following methods : 

1. He might solemnly swear that he was telling the truth Compurga- 
and get as many other persons of his own class as the court 
required, to swear that they believed that he was telling the truth. 

This was called compurgation. It was believed that God would 
punish those who swore falsely. 

2. On the other hand, the parties' to the case, or persons Wager of 

. ' . . ' . . battle 

representing them, might meet m combat, on the supposition 
that Heaven would grant victory to the right. This was the 
so-called wager of battle. 

3. Lastly, one or other of the parties might be required to Ordeals 
submit to the ordeal in one of its various forms : He might 
plunge his arm into hot water, or carry a bit of hot iron for 

some distance, and if at the end of three days he showed no ill 
effects, the case was decided in his favor. Or he might be 
ordered to walk over hot plowshares, and if he was not burned, 
it was assumed that God had intervened by a miracle to establish 
the right. 1 This method of trial is but one example of the rude 
civilization which displaced the refined and elaborate organization 
of the Romans. 

The account which has been given of the conditions in the 
Roman Empire, and of the manner in which the barbarians 

1 Professor Emerton gives an excellent account of the Germanic ideas of law 
in his Introduction to the Middle Ages, pp. 73-91. 



38 Medieval and Modern Times 

occupied its western part, serve to explain why the following 
centuries — known as the early Middle Ages — were a time of 
ignorance and disorder. The Germans, no doubt, varied a good 
deal in their habits and character. The Goths differed from the 
Lombards, and the Franks from the Vandals ; but they were all 
alike in knowing nothing of the art, literature, and science which 
had been developed by the Greeks and adopted by the Romans. 
The invaders were ignorant, simple, vigorous people, with no 
taste for anything except fighting, eating, and drinking. Such was 
the disorder that their coming produced that the declining civiliza- 
tion of the Empire was pretty nearly submerged. The libraries, 
buildings, and works of art were destroyed or neglected, and 
there was no one to see that they were restored. So the western 
world fell back into a condition similar to that in which it had 
been before the Romans conquered and civilized it. 

The loss was, however, temporary. The great heritage of 
skill and invention which had been slowly accumulated in Egypt 
and Greece, and which formed a part of the civilization which 
the Romans had adopted and spread abroad throughout their 
great Empire, did not wholly perish. 

It is true that the break-up of the Roman Empire and the 
centuries of turmoil which followed set everything back, but we 
shall see how the' barbarian nations gradually developed into our 
modern European states, how universities were established in 
which the books of the Greeks and Romans were studied. 
Architects arose in time to imitate the old buildings and build 
a new kind of their own quite as imposing as those of the 
Romans, and men of science carried discoveries far beyond 
anything known to the wisest of the Greeks and Romans. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 6. How did the Germans first come into the Roman 
Empire, and for what reasons ? What is meant by the barbarian in- 
vasions ? Give some examples. Trace the history of the West Goths. 
Where did they finally establish their kingdom? Why has the 



The German Invasions 39 

year 476 been regarded as the date of the fall of the Roman Empire ? 
Tell what you can of Theodoric and his kingdom. Contrast the 
Lombard invaders of Italy with the East Goths. 

Section 7. Who were the Franks, and how did their invasion 
differ from that of the other German peoples? What did Clovis 
accomplish, and what was the extent of the kingdom of the Franks 
under his successors ? Compare the numbers of the barbarians who 
seem to have entered the Empire with the number of people in our 
large cities to-day. 

Section 8. On what terms do the Germans seem to have lived 
with the people of the Roman Empire ? Why are the Laws of the 
Barbarians useful to the historian ? Compare the ways in which the 
Germans tried law cases with those we use to-day in the United States. 
Tell as clearly as possible why the Middle Ages were centuries of 
disorder and ignorance as compared with the earlier period. 




CHAPTER III 



THE RISE OF THE PAPACY 

The Christian Church 

9. Besides the emperors at Constantinople and the various 
German kings, there grew up in Europe a line of rulers far 
more powerful than any of these, namely, the popes. We must 
now consider the Christian Church and see how the popes 
gained their great influence. 

We have already seen how marvelously the Christian com- 
munities founded by the apostles and their fellow missionaries 
multiplied until, by the middle of the third century, writers like 
St. Cyprian came to conceive of a " Catholic," or all-embracing, 
Church. We have seen how Emperor Constantine favored 
Christianity, and how his successors worked in the interest of 
the new religion ; how carefully the Theodosian Code safe- 
guarded the Church and the Christian clergy, and how harshly 
those were treated who ventured to hold another view of 
Christianity from that sanctioned by the government. 1 

1 See above, section 4 
40 



The Rise of the Papacy 4 1 

We must now follow this most powerful and permanent of all 
the institutions of the later Roman Empire into the Middle Ages. 
We must stop first to consider how the Western, or Latin, 
portion of Christendom, which gradually fell apart from the 
Eastern, or Greek, region, came to form a separate institution 
under the popes, the longest and mightiest line of rulers that 
the world has ever seen. We shall see how a peculiar class of 
Christians, the monks, appeared ; how they joined hands with 
the clergy ; how the monks and the clergy met the barbarians, 
subdued and civilized them, and then ruled them for centuries. 

One great source of the Church's strength lay in the gen- Contrast be- 
eral fear of death and judgment to come, which Christianity a nd Christian 
had brought with it. The educated Greeks and Romans of the ldeas 
classical period usually thought of the next life, when they 
thought of it at all, as a very uninteresting existence compared 
with that on this earth. One who committed some great crime 
might suffer for it after death with pains similar to those of the 
hell in which the Christians believed. But the great part of 
humanity were supposed to lead in the next world a shadowy 
existence, neither sad nor glad. Religion, even to the de- 
vout pagan, was mainly an affair of this life ; the gods were 
worshiped with a view to securing happiness and success in 
this world. 

Since no great satisfaction could be expected in the next 
life, according to pagan ideas, it was naturally thought wise to 
make the most of this one. The possibility of pleasure ends — 
so the Roman poet Horace urges — when we join the shades 
below, as we all must do soon. Let us, therefore, take advan- 
tage of every harmless pleasure and improve our brief oppor- 
tunity to enjoy the good things of earth. We should, however, 
be reasonable and temperate, avoiding all excess, for that 
endangers happiness. Above all. we should not worry use- 
lessly about the future, which is in the hands of the gods and 
beyond our control. Such were the convictions of the majority 
of thoughtful pagans. 



42 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Other- 
worldliness 
of medieval 
Christianity 



The monks 



The Church 
the one means 
of salvation 



Miracles a 
source of the 
Church's 
power 



Christianity opposed this view of life with an entirely differ- 
ent one. It constantly emphasized man's existence after death, 
which it declared to be infinitely more important than his brief 
sojourn on earth. Under the influence of the Church this con- 
ception of life gradually supplanted the pagan one in the Roman 
world, and it was taught to the barbarians. 

The " other-worldliness " became so intense that thousands 
gave up their ordinary occupations altogether and devoted their 
entire attention to preparation for the next life. They shut 
themselves in lonely cells ; and, not satisfied with giving up 
most of their natural pleasures, they inflicted bodily suffering 
upon themselves by hunger, cold, and other discomforts. They 
trusted that in this way they might avoid some of the sins into 
which they were apt to fall, and that, by self-inflicted punish- 
ment in this world, they might perchance escape some of that 
reserved for them in the next. 

The barbarians were taught that their fate in the next world 
depended largely upon the Church. Its ministers never wearied 
of presenting the alternative which faced every man so soon as 
this short earthly existence should be over, — the alternative 
between eternal bliss in heaven and perpetual, unspeakable tor- 
ment in hell. Only those who had been duly baptized could 
hope to reach heaven ; but baptism washed away only past sins 
and did not prevent constant relapse into new ones. These, un- 
less their guilt was removed through the Church, would surely 
drag the soul down to hell. 

The divine power of the Church was, furthermore, estab- 
lished in the eyes of the people by the wonderful works which 
Christian saints were constantly performing. They healed the 
sick, made the blind to see and the lame to walk. They called 
down God's wrath upon those who opposed the Church and 
invoked terrible punishments upon those who treated her holy 
rites with contempt. To the reader of to-day, the frequency of 
the miracles narrated by medieval writers seems astonishing. 
The lives of the saints, of which hundreds and hundreds have 



The Rise of the Papacy 43 

been preserved, contain little else than accounts of them, and 
no one appears to have doubted their everyday occurrence. 1 1 

A word should be said of the early Christian church build- The early 
ings. The Romans were accustomed to build near their market basUica?' 
places a species of public hall, in which townspeople could meet 
one another, to transact business, and in which judges could hear 
cases, and public officials attend to their duties. These buildings 
were called basilicas. There were several magnificent ones in 
Rome itself, and there was doubtless at least one to be found in 
every town of considerable size. The roofs of these spacious 
halls were usually supported by long rows of columns ; some- 
times there were two rows on each side, forming aisles. When, 
after Constantine had given his approval to Christianity, large, 
fine churches began to be built they were constructed like these 
familiar public halls and, like them, were called basilicas. 

During the sixteen hundred years that have passed since 
Constantine's time naturally almost all the churches of his day 
have disappeared or been greatly altered. But the beautiful 
church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome (Fig. 11) was built 
only a hundred years later, and gives us an excellent notion of 
a Christian basilica with its fine rows of columns and its hand- 
some mosaic decorations. In general, the churches were plain 
and unattractive on the outside. A later chapter will explain 
how the basilica grew into the Gothic cathedral, which was as 
beautiful outside as inside. 

The chief importance of the Church for the student of The Church 
medieval history does not lie, however, in its religious func- Roman gov- 
tions, vital as they were, but rather in its remarkable relations ernment 
to the government. From the days of Constantine on, the 
Catholic Church had usually enjoyed the hearty support and 
protection of the government. But so long as the Roman 
Empire remained strong and active there was no chance for the 
clergy to free themselves from the control of the emperor, even 
if they had been disposed to do so. He made such laws for 

1 For reports of miracles, see Readings, especially chaps, v, xvi. 



44 



Medieval and Modern Times 



the Church as he saw fit, and the clergy did not complain. The 
government was, indeed, indispensable to them. It undertook 
to root out paganism by destroying the heathen shrines and 
preventing heathen sacrifices, and it punished severely those 
who refused to accept the teachings sanctioned by the Church. 




Fig. ii. Santa Maria Maggiore 

This beautiful church at Rome was built shortly after Constantine's 

time, and the interior, here shown, with its stately columns above which 

are fine mosaics, is still nearly as it was in the time of St. Augustine, 

fifteen hundred years ago. The ceiling is of the sixteenth century 



The Church 
begins to 
seek inde- 
pendence 



But as the great Empire began to fall apart, there was a 
growing tendency among the churchmen in the West to resent 
the interference of the new rulers whom they did not respect. 
Consequently they managed gradually to free themselves in 
large part from the control of the government. They then pro- 
ceeded to assume themselves many of the duties of government, 
which the weak and disorderly states into which the Roman 
Empire fell were unable to perform properly. 

One of the bishops of Rome (Pope Gelasius I, d. 496) briefly 
stated the principle upon which the Church rested its claims, as 



The Rise of the Papacy 4 5 

follows : " Two powers govern the world, the priestly and the Pope Gela- 
kingly. The first is assuredly the superior, for the priest is o^therefci- 17 
responsible to God for the conduct of even the emperors them- ^° n °* the 
selves." Since no one denied that the. eternal interests of man- the State 
kind, which were under the care of the Church, were infinitely 
more important than those merely worldly matters which the 
State regulated, it was natural for the clergy to hold that, in 
case of conflict, the Church and its officers, rather than the 
king, should have the last word. 

Gradually, as we have said, the Church began to undertake The Church 
the duties which the Roman government had previously per- peSormthe 
formed and which our governments perform to-day, such as functlons of 

L J government 

keeping order, the management of public education, the trial of 
lawsuits, etc. There were no well-organized states in western 
Europe for many centuries after the final destruction of the 
Roman Empire. The authority of the various barbarian kings 
was seldom sufficient to keep their realms in order. There 
were always many powerful landholders scattered throughout 
the kingdom who did pretty much what they pleased and set- 
tled their grudges against their fellows by neighborhood wars. 
Fighting was the main business as well as the chief amusement 
of this class. The king was unable to maintain peace and 
protect the oppressed, however anxious he may have been 
to do so. 

Under these circumstances it naturally fell to the Church to 
keep order, when it could, by either threats or persuasion ; to 
see that contracts were kept, the wills of the dead carried out, 
and marriage obligations observed. It took the defenseless 
widow and orphan under its protection and dispensed charity ; 
it promoted education at a time when few laymen, however rich 
and noble, were able even to read. These conditions serve to 
explain why the Church was finally able so greatly to extend 
the powers which it had enjoyed under the Roman Empire, 
and why it undertook duties which seem to us to belong to the 
State rather than to a religious organization. 



4 6 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Origin of the Power of the Popes 



Origin of 
papal power 



Prestige of 
the Roman 
Christian 
community 



Belief that 
Peter was the 
first bishop 
of Rome 



io. We must now turn to a consideration of the origin and 
growth of the supremacy of the popes, who, by raising them- 
selves to the head of the Western Church, became in many 
respects more powerful than any of the kings and princes with 
whom they frequently found themselves in bitter conflict. 

While we cannot discover in the Theodosian Code any recog- 
nition of the supreme headship of the bishop of Rome, there is 
little doubt that he and his flock had almost from the very first 
enjoyed a leading place among the Christian communities. The 
Roman Church was the only one in the West which could claim 
the distinction of having been founded by the immediate followers 
of Christ, — the "two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul." 

The New Testament speaks repeatedly of Paul's presence in 
Rome. As for Peter, there had been from early times a tra- 
dition, accepted throughout the Christian Church, that he was 
the first bishop of Rome. This belief appears in the works 
of Christian writers before the close of the second century. 
There is, certainly, no conflicting tradition, no rival claimant. 
The belief itself, whether or not it corresponds with actual events, 
is a fact of the greatest historical importance. Peter enjoyed a 
preeminence among the other apostles and was singled out by 
Christ upon several occasions. In a passage of the New Testa- 
ment which has affected history more profoundly than the edicts 
of the most powerful monarch, Christ says : " And I say also unto 
thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 
church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I 
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and what- 
soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and 
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 1 



1 Matt, xvi, 18-19. Two other passages in the New Testament were held 
to substantiate the divinely ordained headship of Peter and his successors: 
Luke xxii, 32, where Christ says to Peter, " Strengthen thy brethren," and John xxi, 
15-17, where Jesus said to him, " Feed my sheep." See Readings, chap. iv. The 
keys always appear in the papal arms (see headpiece of this chapter, p. 40). 






3 



g 



3 



o c 

- 







47 



4 8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Roman 
Church the 
mother 
church 



Leo the 

Great, 

440-461 



Decree of 

Valentinian 
III 



Separating 
of Eastern 
from the 
Western 
Church 



Thus it was natural that the Roman Church should early have 
been looked upon as the " mother church " in the West. Its 
doctrines were considered the purest, since they had been handed 
down from its exalted founders. When there was a difference 
of opinion in regard to the truth of a particular teaching, it was 
natural that all should turn to the bishop of Rome for his view. 
Moreover, the majesty of Rome, the capital of the world, 
helped to exalt its bishop above his fellows. It was long, how- 
ever, before all the other bishops, especially those in the large 
cities, were ready to accept unconditionally the authority of 
the bishop of Rome, although they acknowledged his leading 
position and that of the Roman community. 

We know comparatively little of the bishops of Rome during 
the first three or four centuries of the Church's existence. It is 
only with the accession of Leo the Great (440-461) that the 
history of the papacy may, in one sense, be said to have begun. 
At his suggestion, Valentinian III, the emperor in the West, 
issued a decree in 445 declaring the power of the bishop of Rome 
supreme, by reason of Peter's headship, and the majesty of the 
city of Rome. He commanded that the bishops throughout the 
West should receive as law all that the bishop of Rome ap- 
proved, and that any bishop refusing to answer a summons to 
Rome should be forced to obey by the imperial governor. 

But a council at Chalcedon, six years later, declared that 
new Rome on the Bosporus (Constantinople) should have the 
same power in the government of the Church as old Rome 
on the Tiber. This decree was, however, never accepted in 
the Western, or Latin, Church, which was gradually separating 
from the Eastern, or Greek, Church, whose natural head was at 
Constantinople. Although there were times of trouble to come 
when for years the claims of Pope Leo appeared an empty 
boast, still his emphatic assertion of the supremacy of the 
Roman bishop was a great step toward bringing the Western 
Church under a single head. 1 

1 See Readings, chap, iv, for development of the pope's power. 



The Rise of the Papacy 



49 



The name "pope" (Latin, papa, "father") was originally Title of pope 
and quite naturally given to all bishops, and even to priests. It 
began to be especially applied to the bishops of Rome, perhaps 
as early as the sixth century, but was not apparently confined 
to them until two or three hundred years later. Gregory VII 




Fig. 13. The Ancient Basilica of St. Peter 

Of the churches built by Constantine in Rome that in honor of St. Peter 
was, next to the Lateran, the most important. It was constructed on 
the site of Nero's circus, where St. Peter was believed to have been 
crucified. It retained its original appearance, as here represented, for 
twelve hundred years, and then the popes (who had given up the 
Lateran as their residence and come to live in the Vatican palace close 
to St. Peter's) determined to build the new and grander church one 
sees to-day. (See section 45, below.) Constantine and the popes made 
constant use in their buildings of columns and stones taken from the 
older Roman buildings, which were in this way demolished 



(d. 1085 ; see section 30, below) was the first to declare explicitly 
that the title should be used only for the bishop of Rome. 

Not long after the death of Leo the Great, Odoacer put an 
end to the Western line of emperors. Then, as we know, 
Theodoric and his East Goths settled in Italy, only to be 



Duties that 
devolved 
upon the 
early popes 



5o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Gregory 
the Great, 
590-604 



Ancient 
Rome be- 
comes medi 
eval Rome 



followed by still less desirable intruders, the Lombards. During 
this tumultuous period the people of Rome, and even of all Italy, 
came to regard the pope as their natural leader. The Eastern 
emperor was far away, and his officers, who managed to hold a 
portion of central Italy around Rome and Ravenna, were glad 
to accept the aid and counsel of the pope. In Rome the pope 
watched over the elections of the city officials and directed the 
manner the public money should be spent. He had to manage 
and defend the great tracts of land in different parts of Italy 
which from time to time had been given to the bishopric of 
Rome. He negotiated with the Germans and even gave orders 
to the generals sent against them. 

The pontificate of Gregory the Great, one of the half dozen 
most distinguished heads that the Church has ever had, shows 
how great a part the papacy could play. Gregory, who was the 
son of a rich Roman senator, had been appointed by the 
emperor to the honorable office of prefect. He began to fear, 
however, that his proud position and fine clothes were making 
him vain and worldly. His pious mother and his study of the 
writings of Augustine and the other great Christian writers 
led him, upon the death of his father, to spend all his hand- 
some fortune in founding seven monasteries. One of these 
he established in his own house and subjected himself to 
such severe discipline that his health never entirely recovered 
from it. 

When Gregory was chosen pope (in 590) and most reluctantly 
left his monastery, ancient Rome, the capital of the Empire, 
was already transforming itself into medieval Rome, the capi- 
tal of Christendom. The temples of the gods had furnished 
materials for the many Christian churches. The tombs of the 
apostles Peter and Paul were soon to become the center of 
religious attraction and the goal of pilgrimages from every part 
of western Europe. Just as Gregory assumed office a great 
plague was raging in the city. In true medieval fashion he 
arranged a solemn procession in order to obtain from heaven a 



The Rise of the Papacy 



51 



cessation of the pest. Then the archangel Michael was seen 
over the tomb of Hadrian (Fig. 14) sheathing his fiery sword 
as a sign that the wrath of the Lord had been turned away. 
With Gregory we leave behind us the Rome of Caesar and 
Trajan and enter upon that of the popes. 




aT MWiM' an taw *» w jjjljpl 



Fig. 14. Hadrian's Tomb 

The Roman emperor Hadrian (d. 138) built a great circular tomb at 
Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, for himself and his successors. 
It was 240 feet across, perhaps 165 feet high, covered with marble and 
adorned with statues. When Rome was besieged by the Germans in 
537, the inhabitants used the tomb for a fortress and threw down the 
statues on the heads of the barbarians. Since the time when Gregory 
the Great saw the archangel Michael sheathing his sword over Hadrian's 
tomb it has been called the Castle of the Holy Angel 



Gregory enjoyed an unrivaled reputation during the Middle Gregory's 
Ages as a writer. His works show, however, how much less wn mgs 
cultivated his period was than that of his predecessors. His 
most popular book was his Dialogues, a collection of accounts 
of miracles and popular legends. It is hard to believe that it 



52 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Gregory as a 
statesman 



Gregory's 
missionary 
undertakings 



could have been composed by the greatest man of the time and 
that it was written for adults. 1 In his commentary on Job, 
Gregory warns the reader that he need not be surprised to find 
mistakes in Latin grammar, since in dealing with so holy a work 
as the Bible a writer should not stop to make sure whether 
his cases and tenses are right. 

Gregory's letters show clearly what the papacy was coming 
to mean for Europe when in the hands of a really great man. 
While he assumed the humble title of " Servant of the servants 
of God," which the popes still use, Gregory was a statesman 
whose influence extended far and wide. It devolved upon him 
to govern the city of Rome, — as it did upon his successors 
down to the year 1870, — for the Eastern emperor's control 
had become merely nominal. He had also to keep the Lombards 
out of central Italy, which they failed to conquer largely on 
account of the valiant defense of the popes. These duties were 
functions of the state, and in assuming them Gregory may be 
said to have founded the " temporal " power of the popes. 

Beyond the borders of Italy, Gregory was in constant com- 
munication with the emperor and the Frankish and Burgundian 
rulers. Everywhere he used his influence to have good clergy- 
men chosen as bishops, and everywhere he watched over the 
interests of the monasteries. But his chief importance in the 
history of the papacy is due to the missionary enterprises he 
undertook, through which the great countries that were one 
day to be called England, France, and Germany were brought 
under the sway of the Roman Church and its head, the pope. 

As Gregory had himself been a devoted monk it was natural 
that he should rely chiefly upon the monks in his great work of con- 
verting the heathen. Consequently, before considering his mission- 
ary achievements, we must glance at the origin and character of 
the monks, who are so conspicuous throughout the Middle Ages. 



1 He is reckoned, along with Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome, as one of the 
four great Latin " fathers " of the Church. For extracts from Gregory's writings, 
see Readings, chap. iv. 



The Rise of the Papacy 5 3 

QUESTIONS 

Section 9. Why is it essential to know about the history of the 
Church in order to understand the . Middle Ages ? Compare the 
Christian idea of the importance of life in this world and the next 
with the pagan views. Describe a basilica. Mention some govern- 
mental duties that were assumed by the Church. Give the reasons 
why the Church became such a great power in the Middle Ages. 

Section 10. Why was the Roman Church the most important of 
all the Christian churches ? On what grounds did the bishop of Rome 
claim to be the head of the whole Church ? Did the Christians in the 
eastern portion of the Roman Empire accept the bishop of Rome as 
their head ? Why did the popes become influential in the governing 
not only of Rome but of Italy ? Tell what you can of Gregory the Great. 










CHAPTER IV 

THE MONKS AND THEIR MISSIONARY WORK; 
THE MOHAMMEDANS 

Monks and Monasteries 



Importance 
of the monks 
as a class 



Monasticism 
appealed to 
many differ- 
ent classes 



ii. It would be difficult to overestimate the influence that the 
monks exercised for centuries in Europe. The proud annals of 
the Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits contain 
many a distinguished name. The most eminent philosophers, 
scientists, historians, artists, poets, and statesmen may be found 
in their ranks. Among those whose achievements we shall men- 
tion later are "The Venerable Bede," Boniface, Thomas Aquinas, 
Roger Bacon, Fra Angelico, Luther, Erasmus — all these, and 
many others who have been leaders in various branches of 
human activity, were monks. 

The life in a monastery appealed to many different kinds of 
people. The monastic life was safe and peaceful, as well as 
holy. The monastery was the natural refuge not only of the 
religiously minded, but of those of a studious or thoughtful dis- 
position who disliked the career of a soldier and were disinclined 
to face the dangers and uncertainties of the times. Even the 

54 



nastic life 



The Monks and their Missionary Work 5 5 

rude and unscrupulous warriors hesitated to destroy the property 
or disturb the life of those who were believed to enjoy God's 
special favor. The monastery furnished, too, a refuge for the 
friendless, an asylum for the disgraced, and food and shelter for 
the indolent, who would otherwise have had to earn their living. 
There were, therefore, many different motives which led people 
to enter monasteries. Kings and nobles, for the good of their 
souls, readily gave land upon which to found colonies of monks, 
and there were plenty of remote spots in the mountains and 
forests to invite those who wished to escape from the world and 
its temptations, its dangers or its cares. 

Monastic communities first developed on a large scale in Egypt Necessity for 
in the fourth century. The idea, however, was quickly taken up tioVofmo- 
in Europe. At the time that the Germans were winning their 
first great victory at Adrianople, St. Jerome was busily engaged 
in writing letters to men and women whom he hoped to induce 
to become monks or hermits. In the sixth century monasteries 
multiplied so rapidly in western Europe that it became necessary 
to establish definite rules for these communities which proposed 
to desert the ordinary ways of the world and lead a holy life 
apart. Accordingly St. Benedict drew up, about the year 526, 
a sort of constitution for the monastery of Monte Cassino, in 
southern Italy, of which he was the head. 1 This was so saga- 
cious, and so well met the needs of the monastic life, that it was 
rapidly accepted by the other monasteries and gradually became 
the " rule " according to which all the Western monks lived. 2 

1 The illustration on page 54 shows the monastery of Monte Cassino. It is 
situated on a lofty hill, lying some ninety miles south of Rome. Benedict 
selected a site formerly occupied by a temple to Apollo, of which the columns 
may still be seen in one of the courts of the present building. The monastery 
was destroyed by the Lombards not long after its foundation and later by the 
Mohammedans, so none of the present buildings go back to the time of Benedict. 

2 Benedict did not introduce monasticism in the West, as is sometimes sup- 
posed^ nor did he even found an order in the proper sense of the word, under a 
single head, like the later Franciscans and Dominicans. Nevertheless, the 
monks who lived under his rule are ordinarily spoken of as belonging to the 
Benedictine order. A translation of the Benedictine rule may be found in 
Henderson, Historical Documents, pp. 274-314. 



56 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Rule of St. Benedict is as important as any constitution 
that was ever drawn up for a state. It is for the most part very 
wise and sensible. It provided that, since every one is not fitted 
for the monk's life, the candidate for admission to the monastery 
should pass through a period of probation, called the novitiate, 
before he was permitted to take the solemn, final vows. The 
brethren were to elect the head of the monastery, the abbot, 
as he was called. Along with frequent prayer and meditation, 
the monks were to do the necessary cooking and washing for the 
monastery and raise the necessary vegetables and grain. They 
were also to read and teach. Those who were incapacitated for 
outdoor work were assigned lighter tasks, such as copying books. 

The monk had to take the three vows of obedience, poverty, 
and chastity. He was to obey the abbot without question in all 
matters that did not involve his committing a sin. He pledged 
himself to perpetual and absolute poverty, and everything he 
used was the property of the convent. He was not permitted 
to own anything whatsoever — not even a book or a pen. Along 
with the vows of obedience and poverty, he was also required 
to pledge himself never to marry. For not only was the single 
life considered more holy than the married, but the monastic 
organization would have been impossible unless the monks re- 
mained single. Aside from these restrictions, the monks were 
commanded to live reasonable and natural lives and not to 
destroy their health, as some earlier ones had done, by undue 
fasting in the supposed interest of their souls. 

The influence of the Benedictine monks upon Europe is in- 
calculable. From their numbers no less than twenty-four popes 
and forty-six hundred bishops and archbishops have been chosen. 
They boast almost sixteen thousand writers, some of great dis- 
tinction. Their monasteries furnished retreats during the Mid- 
dle Ages, where the scholar might study and write in spite of 
the prevailing disorder of the times. 

The copying of books, as has been said, was a natural occu- 
pation of the monks. Doubtless their work was often done 



The Monks and their Missionary Work 5 7 

carelessly, with little heart and less understanding. But, with the The monks 
great loss of manuscripts due to the destruction of libraries and prese^the 
the general lack of interest in books, it was most essential that Latin authors 
new copies should be made. Even poor and incorrect ones were 
better than none. Almost all the books written by the Romans 
disappeared altogether during the Middle Ages, but from time to 
time a monk would copy out the poems of Vergil, Horace, or Ovid, 
or the speeches of Cicero. In this way some of the chief works of 
the Latin writers have continued to exist down to the present day. 

The monks regarded good hard work as a great aid to salva- The monks 
tion. They set the example of careful cultivation of the lands ma terSde e - 
about their monasteries and in this way introduced better farm- veiopment of 

J Europe 

ing methods into the regions where they settled. They enter- 
tained travelers at a time when there were few or no inns and so 
increased the intercourse between the various parts of Europe. 

The Benedictine monks were ardent and faithful supporters The " regu- 
of the papacy. The Church, which owes much to them, ex- "secular" 
tended to them many of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy. cler sy 
Indeed, the monks were reckoned as clergymen and were called 
the " regular " clergy, because they lived according to a regula, 
or rule, to distinguish them from the " secular " clergy, who con- 
tinued to live in the world {sciendum) and did not take the 
monastic vows described above. 

The home which the monks constructed for themselves was Arrangement 
called a monastery or abbey. This was arranged to meet their astery ° n 
particular needs and was usually at a considerable distance from 
any town, in order to insure solitude and quiet. 1 It was mod- 
eled upon the general plan of the Roman country house. The 
buildings were arranged around a court, called the cloister. On The cloister 
all four sides of this was a covered walk, which made it possible 
to reach all the buildings without exposing one's self to either the 
rain or the hot sun. Not only the Benedictines but all the orders 
which sprang up in later centuries arranged their homes in 
much the same way. 

1 Later monasteries were sometimes built in towns, or just outside the walls. 



58 



Medieval and Modern Times 



On the north side of the cloister was the church, which always 
faced west. As time went on and certain groups of monks 
were given a great deal of property, they constructed very beau- 
tiful churches for their monasteries. Westminster Abbey was 
originally the church of a monastery lying outside the city of 




Fig. 15. Cloisters of Heiligenkreuz 

This picture of the cloister in the German monastery of Heiligenkreuz 

is chosen to show how the more ordinary monastery courts looked, with 

their pleasant sunny gardens 



The refec- 
tory, lavatory, 
and dormi- 
tory 



London, and there are in Great Britain many picturesque re- 
mains of mined abbey churches which attract the attention of 
every traveler. 

On the west side of the cloister were storerooms for pro- 
visions ; on the south side, opposite the church, was the " re- 
fectory," or dining room, and a sitting room that could be 
warmed in cold weather. In the cloister near the dining room 
was a " lavatory " where the monk could wash his hands before 
meals. To the east of the cloister was the " dormitory," where 
the monks slept. This always adjoined the church, for the Rule 
required that the monks should hold services seven times a day. 



The Monks mid their Missionary Work 



59 



One of these services, called vigils, came well before daybreak, 
and it was convenient when you were summoned in the dark- 
ness out of your warm bed to be able to go down a short passage 
that led from the dormitory into the choir of the church, where 
the service was held. 

The Benedictine Rule provided that the monks should so far 
as possible have everything for their support on their own land. 







Fig. i 6. Monastery of Val di Cristo 

This monastery in southern Spain has two cloisters, the main one lies 

to the left. One can see how the buildings were surrounded by vegetable 

gardens and an orchard which supplied the monks with food. Compare 

picture of another monastery (Fig. 26, below) 



So outside the group of buildings around the cloister would be The out- 
found the garden, the orchard, the mill, a fish pond, and fields tionsofthe 
for raising grain. There were also a hospital for the sick and a monaster y 
guest house for pilgrims or poor people who happened to come 
along. In the greater monasteries there were also quarters 
where a king or nobleman might spend a few nights in comfort. 




T3 rt w 



60 



The Monks and their Missionary Work 61 

Missionary Work of the Monks 

12. The first great undertaking of the monks was the con- The monks 
version of those German peoples who had not yet been won over aries 1SS1 ° n " 
to Christianity. These the monks made not merely Christians, 
but also dutiful subjects of the pope. In this way the strength 
of the Roman Catholic Church was greatly increased. The first 
people to engage the attention of the monks were the heathen 
German tribes who had conquered the once Christian Britain. 

The islands which are now known as the kingdom of Great Early Britain 
Britain and Ireland were, at the opening of the Christian era, 
occupied by several Celtic peoples of whose customs and re- 
ligion we know almost nothing. Julius Caesar commenced the 
conquest of the islands (55 B.C.) ; but the Romans never suc- 
ceeded in establishing their power beyond the wall which they 
built, from the Clyde to the Firth of Forth, to keep out the 
wild tribes of the North. Even south of the wall the country 
was not completely Romanized, and the Celtic tongue has 
actually survived down to the present day in Wales (see 
p. 29, above). 

At the opening of the fifth century the barbarian invasions Saxons and 
forced Rome to withdraw its legions from Britain in order to "J[. Britain 
protect its frontiers on the Continent. The island was thus left 
to be conquered gradually by the Germans, mainly Saxons and 
Angles, who came across the North Sea from the region south 
of Denmark. Almost all record of what went on during the two 
centuries following the departure of the Romans has disap- 
peared. No one knows the fate of the original Celtic inhabitants 
of England. It was formerly supposed that they were all killed 
or driven to the mountain districts of Wales, but this seems un- 
likely. More probably they were gradually lost among the dom- 
inating Germans with whom they merged into one people. The 
Saxon and Angle chieftains established small kingdoms, of which 
there were seven or eight at the time when Gregory the Great 
became pope. 



62 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Gregory, while still a simple monk, had been struck with the 
beauty of some Angles whom he saw one day in the slave market 
at Rome. When he learned who they were he was grieved that 
such handsome beings should still belong to the kingdom of the 
Prince of Darkness, and he wished to go as a missionary to their 
people, but permission was refused him. So when he became 




St. Martin's, Canterbury 



A church built during the period when the Romans were occupying 
England had been used by Bertha, the Christian wife of the king of 
Kent. Augustine found this on his arrival in Canterbury and is said to 
have baptized the king there. It has been rebuilt and added to in later 
times, but there are many Roman bricks in the walls, and the lower parts 
of the church as we now see it may go back to the Roman period 



pope he sent forty monks to England under the leadership of 
a prior, named Augustine (who must not be confused with the 
church father of that name). The heathen king of Kent, in 
whose territory Augustine and his monks landed with fear and 
trembling (597), had a Christian wife, the daughter of a Frankish 
king. Through her influence the monks were kindly received 
and were given an ancient church at Canterbury, dating from 
the Roman occupation before the German invasions. Here they 



The Monks and their Missionary Work 63 

established a monastery, and from this center the conversion, 
first of Kent and then of the whole island, was gradually accom- 
plished. Canterbury has always maintained its early preeminence 
and may still be considered the religious capital of England. 1 

England thus became a part of the ever-growing territory em- England and 
braced in the Roman Catholic Church and remained for nearly church™ 11 
a thousand years as faithful to the pope as any other Catholic 
country. 

The conversion of England by the missionaries from Rome was Early culture 
followed by a period of general enthusiasm for Rome and its 
literature and culture. The English monasteries became centers 
of learning unrivaled perhaps in the rest of Europe. A constant 
intercourse was maintained with Rome. Masons and glass- 
makers were brought across the Channel to replace the wooden 
churches of Britain by stone edifices in the .style of the Romans. 
The young English clergy were taught Latin and sometimes 
Greek. Copies of the ancient classics were brought from the 
Continent and copied. The most distinguished writer of the 
seventh and early eighth centuries in Europe was the English 
monk Baeda (often called "The Venerable Bede," 673-735), "TheVener- 

able Bede " 

from whose admirable history of the Church in England most 
of our information about the period is derived. 2 

In 718 St. Boniface, an English monk, was sent by the pope St. Boniface, 
as a missionary to the Germans. After four years spent in re- \ h l Germans 
connoitering the field of his future labors, he visited Rome and 
was made a missionary bishop, taking the same oath of obedi- 
ence to the pope that the bishops in the immediate vicinity of 
Rome were accustomed to take. Indeed, absolute subordination 
to the pope was a part of his religion, and he became a powerful 
agent in extending the papal power. 

Boniface succeeded in converting many of the more remote Conversion 
German tribes who still clung to their old pagan beliefs. His 
energetic methods are illustrated by the story of how he cut 

1 See Readings, chap, v, for Gregory's instructions to his missionaries. 

2 See Readings, chap. v. 



6 4 



Medieval and Modem Times 



down the sacred oak of the old German god, Odin, at Fritzlar, 
in Hesse, and used the wood to build a chapel, around which a 
monastery soon grew up. In 732 Boniface was raised to the 
dignity of Archbishop of Mayence and proceeded to establish 
in the newly converted region a number of German bishoprics, 
Salzburg, Regensburg, Wiirzburg, and others ; this gives us some 
idea of the geographical extent of his labors. 

Mohammed and his Religion 



Arabs before 
Mohammed 



Mecca and 
the Kaaba 



13. Just at the time that Gregory the Great was doing so 
much to strengthen the power and influence of the popes in 
Rome, a young Arab camel driver in far away Mecca was med- 
itating upon the mysteries of life and devising a religion which 
was destined to spread with astounding rapidity into Asia, Africa, 
and Europe and to become a great rival of Christianity. And 
to-day the millions who believe in Mohammed as God's greatest 
prophet are probably equal in number to those who are faithful 
to the pope, as the head of the Catholic Church. 

Before the time of Mohammed the Arabs had played no great 
part in the world's history. The scattered tribes were constantly 
at war with one another, and each tribe worshiped its own gods, 
when it worshiped at all. Mecca was considered a sacred spot, 
however, and the fighting was stopped four months each year 
so that all could peacefully visit the Kaaba, a sort of temple 
full of idols and containing in particular a black stone, about as 
long as a man's hand, which was regarded as specially worthy 
of reverence. 

Mohammed was poor and earned a living by conducting 
caravans across the desert. He was so -fortunate as to find a 
rich widow in Mecca, named Kadijah, who gave him employ- 
ment and later fell in love with him and became his wife. She 
was his first convert and kept up his courage when few of his 
fellow townsmen in Mecca were inclined to pay any attention 
to his new religious teachings. 



The Mohammedans 65 

As Mohammed traveled back and forth across the desert with Mohammed's 
his trains of camels heavily laden with merchandise he had plenty Jrom^heAn- 
of time to think, and he became convinced that God was sending & el Gabnel 
him messages which it was his duty to reveal to mankind. He 
met many Jews and Christians, of whom there were great num- 
bers in Arabia, and from them he got some ideas of the Old and 
New Testaments. But when he tried to convince people that he 
was God's prophet, and that the Angel Gabriel had appeared to 
him in his dreams and told him of a new religion, he was treated 
with scorn. 

Finally, he discovered that his enemies in Mecca were plan- The Hejira, 
ning to kill him, and he fled to the neighboring town of Medina, 
where he had friends. His flight, which took place in the year 
622, is called the Hejira by the Arabs. It was taken by his 
followers as the beginning of a new era — the year One, as 
the Mohammedans reckon time. 

A war followed between the people of Mecca and those who islam 
had joined Mohammed in and about Medina. It was eight years 
before his followers became numerous enough to enable him to 
march upon Mecca and take it with a victorious army. Before 
his death in 632 he had gained the support of all the Arab 
chiefs, and his new religion, which he called Islam (submission 
to God), was accepted throughout the whole Arabian peninsula. 

Mohammed could probably neither write nor read well, but The Koran 
when he fell into trances from time to time he would repeat to 
his eager listeners the words which he heard from heaven, and 
they in turn wrote them down. These sayings, which were col- 
lected into a volume shortly after his death, form the Koran, the 
Mohammedan Bible. This contains the chief beliefs of the new 
religion as well as the laws under which all good Mohammedans 
were to live. It has been translated into English several times. 
Parts of it are very beautiful and interesting, while other portions 
are dull and stupid to a modern reader. 

The Koran follows the Jewish and Christian religions in pro- 
claiming one God, " the Lord of the worlds, the merciful and 



66 



Medieval and Modern Ti\ 



lines 



Islam pro- 
claims one 
God and 
Mohammed 
as his prophet 



Chief 
duties of 
the 

Moham- 
medan 



The creed 
and prayers 



compassionate." Mohammed believed that there had been great 
prophets before him, — Abraham, Moses, and Jesus among 
others, — but that he himself was the last and greatest of 

God's messengers, who 



brought the final and 
highest form of religion 
to mankind. He de- 
stroyed all the idols in 
the Kaaba at Mecca 
and forbade his follow- 
ers to make any images 
whatsoever — but he 
left the black stone. 

Besides serving the 
one God, the Moham- 
medan was to honor his 
parents, aid the poor, 
protect the orphan, 
keep his contracts, give 
full measure, and weigh 
with a just balance. He 
was not to walk proudly 
on the earth, or to be 
wasteful, " for the waste- 
ful were ever the devil's 
brothers." He was to 
avoid, moreover, all 
strong drink, and this 
command has saved 
Mohammed's faithful 

followers from the terrible degradation which alcohol has made 

so common in our Western world. 

Besides obeying these and other commands the Mohammedan 

who would be saved must do five things : First, he must recite 

daily the simple creed, "There is no god but God, and 




Fig. 19. Arabic Writing 

This is a page from the Koran, with an 
elaborate decorated border. It gives an 
idea of the appearance of Arabic writing. 
The Arabic letters are, next to the Roman 
alphabet, which we use, the most widely 
employed in the world 



The Mohammedans 



6 7 



Mohammed is his prophet." Secondly, he must pray five times 
a day — just before sunrise, just after noon, before and after 
sunset, and when the day has closed. It is not uncommon to 
see in well-furnished houses in this country the so-called 
"prayer rugs " brought from Mohammedan countries. These 
are spread down on the ground or the flat roof of the oriental 
house, and on them the worshiper kneels to pray, turning his 
face toward Mecca 
and bowing his head 
to the ground. The 
pattern on the rug 
indicates the place 
where the bowed 
head is to be placed. 
Thirdly, the Moham- 
medan must fast 
during the whole 
month of ramadan ; 
he may neither eat 
nor drink from sun- 
rise to sunset, for 
this is the month 
in which God* sent 

Gabriel down from the seventh heaven to bring the Koran, 
which he revealed, paragraph by paragraph, to Mohammed. 
Fourthly, the Mohammedan must give alms to the poor, and, 
fifthly, he must, if he can, make a pilgrimage to Mecca at 
least once during his lifetime. Tens of thousands of pilgrims 
flock to Mecca every year. They enter the great courtyard 
surrounding the Kaaba, which is a plain, almost cubical, 
building, supposed to have been built in the first place by 
Abraham. The sacred black stone is fixed in the outside wall 
at the southeast corner, and the pilgrims must circle the build- 
ing seven times, kissing the black stone each time as they pass 
it (Fig. 21). 




Fig. 20. 



Mohammedan kneeling 
a Prayer Rug 



on 



Pilgrimage 
to Mecca 







^y..\ 









68 






Street Scene in Cairo 



The Mohammedans 69 

The Koran announces a day of judgment when the heavens Moham- 
shall be opened and the mountains be powdered and become me( 
like flying dust. Then all men shall receive their reward. Those 
who have refused to accept Islam shall be banished to hell to 
be burned and tormented forever. " They shall not taste therein 
coolness or drink, save scalding water and running sores," and 
the scalding water they shall drink like thirsty camels. 

Those, on the other hand, who have obeyed the Koran, Heaven 
especially those who die fighting for Islam, shall find themselves 
in a garden of delight. They shall recline in rich brocades 
upon soft cushions and rugs and be served by surpassingly 
beautiful maidens, with eyes like hidden pearls. Wine may be 
drunk there, but "their heads shall not ache with it, neither shall 
they be confused." They shall be content with their past life 
and shall hear no foolish words ; and there shall be no sin but 
only the greeting, " Peace, peace." 

The religion of Mohammed was much simpler than that of The mosque 
the medieval Christian Church ; it did not provide for a priest- 
hood or for any great number of ceremonies. The Moham- 
medan mosque or temple is a house of prayer and a place for 
reading the Koran ; no altars or images or pictures of any kind 
are permitted in it. The mosques are often very beautiful build- 
ings, especially in great Mohammedan cities, such as Jerusalem, . 
Damascus, Cairo, and Constantinople. They have great courts 
surrounded by covered colonnades and are adorned with beau- 
tiful marbles and mosaics and delightful windows with bright 
stained glass. The walls are adorned with passages from the 
Koran, and the floors covered with rich rugs. They have one 
or more minarets from which the muezzin, or call to prayer, is 
heard five times a day. 

The Mohammedans, like other Eastern peoples, are very Women and 
particular to keep the women by themselves in a separate part 
of the house, called the harem, or woman's quarters. They 
may not go out without the master's permission and even then 
not without wearing a veil ; no man must ever see a respectable 



JO 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Slaves 



woman's face, except her father, brother, or husband. The Koran 
permits a man to have as many as four wives, but in practice 
only the men of the richer classes have more than one. For a 
woman to attempt to escape from the harem is a crime punish- 
able with death. Sometimes the women seem to lead pleasant 
lives, but, for the most part, their existence is very monotonous. 1 
Slaves are very common in Mohammedan countries, but 
once they are freed they are as good as any one else and may 
then hold the highest places in the government. 



The Arabs' 
conquests. 
Caliphs at 
Damascus 



Caliphs 
at Bagdad 



Conquests of the Mohammedans ; the Caliphate 

14. Mohammed had occupied the position of pope and king 
combined, and his successors, who took the title of caliph 
(which means " successor " or " representative "), were regarded 
as the absolute rulers of the Mohammedans. Their word was 
law in both religious and worldly matters. Mohammed's father- 
in-law, Ali, was the first caliph, and under him the Arabs went 
forth to conquer Syria, Egypt, and the great empire of Persia. 
The capital of the caliphate was then transferred from Medina 
to Damascus, which occupied a far better position for govern- 
ing the new realms. Although the Mohammedans were con- 
stantly fighting among themselves, they succeeded in extending 
their territory so as to include Asia Minor and the northern 
coast of Africa. A great part of the people whom they con- 
quered accepted the new religion of the prophet. 

Something over a hundred years after Mohammed's death a 
new line of caliphs came into power and established (762) a 
new capital on the river Tigris near the site of ancient Babylon. 
This new city of Bagdad became famous for its wealth, magnifi- 
cence, and learning. It was five miles across and at one time 
is supposed to have had two millions of inhabitants. In the 



1 The colored plate (opp. p. 68) shows the minarets of a great mosque in Cairo. 
One can also see the gratings of the upper stories of the houses, through which 
the women can look out of their harem without being seen from the street. 




Si 

W 
D 
2 J 
A 

o 
u 

3 

«: 

3 
S 



7i 



y2 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Arabian 
Nights' Enter- 
tainments 



Moham- 
medans 
attempt to 
invade 
Europe 



The Arabs 
in Spain 



Arabs in- 
vade Gaul 



ninth century it was probably the richest and most splendid 
city in the world. 

The most entertaining example of Arabic literature which 
has been translated into English is the Thousand and One 
Nights, or The Arabia?i Nights' Entertainments ^ as it is com- 
monly called. These include the story of " Sindbad the Sailor," 
" Aladdin and the Lamp," " Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," 
and other famous tales. The great collection was got together in 
Egypt, perhaps in the fifteenth century, but many of the stories 
are very much older and were translated by the Arabs from the 
Persian, when the caliphs of Bagdad were at the height of their 
power. Some of these stories give one a lively idea of Moham- 
medan manners and customs. 

The Mohammedans made two or three attempts to cross 
over from Asia into Europe and take Constantinople, the capital 
of the Eastern Empire, but failed. It was more than eight 
hundred years after Mohammed's death that the Turks, a 
Mohammedan people, succeeded in this, and Constantinople is 
now a Mohammedan city and the Sultan of Turkey is the 
nominal head of Islam. Long before the Turks captured Con- 
stantinople, however, the Arabs at the other end of the caliph's 
empire had succeeded in crossing the Strait of Gibraltar from 
Africa and possessing themselves of Spain. 

The kingdom of the West Goths was in no condition to 
defend itself when a few Arabs and a much larger number of 
Berbers, inhabitants of northern Africa, ventured to invade 
Spain. Some of the Spanish towns held out for a time, but the 
invaders found allies in the numerous Jews, who had been shame- 
fully treated by their Christian countrymen. As for the innumer- 
able serfs who worked on the great estates of the aristocracy, 
a change of landlords made very little difference to them. In 7 1 1 
the Arabs and Berbers gained a great battle, and the peninsula 
was gradually overrun by new immigrants from Africa. 

In seven years the Mohammedans were masters of almost 
the whole region south of the Pyrenees. They then began to 



The Mohammedans 



73 



cross into Gaul. For some years 
the Duke of Aquitaine kept them 
in check; but in 732 they col- 
lected a large army, defeated the 
duke near Bordeaux, advanced 
to Poitiers, and then set out for 
Tours. 

Here they met the army of 
the Franks which Charles the 
Hammer (Martel), the king's 
chief minister, had brought to- 
gether to meet the new danger. 
We know very little indeed of 
this famous battle of Tours, ex- 
cept that the Mohammedans 
were repulsed, and that they 
never again made any serious 
attempt to conquer western 
Europe beyond the Pyrenees. 
They retired to Spain and there 
developed a great and prosper- 
ous kingdom, far in advance of 
the Christian kingdoms to the 
north of them. 

Some of the buildings which 
they erected soon after their 
arrival still stand. Among these 
is the mosque at Cordova with 
its forest of columns and arches. 1 
They also erected a great tower 
at Seville (Fig. 22). This has 
been copied by the architects of 

1 The great mosque, which the Mo- 
hammedan rulers built at Cordova on the 
site of a Christian church of the West 
Goths, was second in size only to the 








Fig. 22. Giralda 

This tower, called the Giralda, 
was originally the great minaret 
of the chief mosque at Seville. 
It was built, 1 1 84-1 196, out of 
Roman and West Gothic mate- 
rials, and many Roman inscrip- 
tions are to be seen on the 
stones used for the walls. Orig- 
inally the tower was lower than 
it now is. All the upper part, 
including the story where the 
bells hang, was rebuilt by the 
Christians after they drove 
the Moors out of the city 



74 Medieval and Modern Times 

Madison Square Garden in New York. The Mohammedans 
built beautiful palaces and laid out charming gardens. One of 
these palaces, the Alhambra, built at Granada some centuries 
after their arrival in Spain, is a marvel of lovely detail. They 
also founded a great university at Cordova, to which Christians 
from the North sometimes went in search of knowledge. 
Moors far Historians commonly regard it as a matter of great good luck 

the Franks that Charles the Hammer and his barbarous soldiers succeeded 
in defeating and driving back the Mohammedans at Tours. But 
had they been permitted to settle in southern France they might 
have developed science and art far more rapidly than did the 
Franks. It is difficult to say whether it was a good thing or a 
bad thing that the Moors, as the Mohammedans in Spain were 
called, did not get control of a portion of Gaul. 

QUESTIONS 

Section i i. What various reasons led men-to enter monasteries? 
When and where did Christian monasteries originate? (jive some 
of the chief provisions of St. Benedict's Rule. What is meant by the 
"regular" and the "secular" clergy? Why did the monks some- 
times devote part of their time to copying books? Describe the 
general plan of a monastery. 

Section 12. Tell about the conversion of the king of Kent. Did 
England become a part of the medieval Catholic church ? 

Section 13. Give a short account of Mohammed's life. Define 
Kaaba, Islam, Kora?i. What does the Mohammedan religion require 
of its adherents ? 

Section 14. What countries did the Mohammedans conquer 
during the century following Mohammed's death ? Where is Mecca, 
Bagdad, Damascus, Cordova? Tell what you can of the Moorish 
buildings in Spain. 

Kaaba at Mecca (Fig. 21). It was begun about 785 and gradually enlarged and 
beautified during the following two centuries, with the hope that it would rival 
Mecca as a place of pilgrimage. The part represented in the illustration was 
built by Caliph Al-Hakim, who came to the throne in 961. The beautiful holy of 
holies (the entrance of which may be seen in the background) is richly adorned 
with magnificent mosaics. The whole mosque is 570 by 425 feet; that is, about 
the size of St. Peter's in Rome. 



CHAPTER V 

CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS EMPIRE 

Conquests of Charlemagne 

15. We have seen how the kings of the Franks, Clovis and How Pippin 
his successors, conquered a large territory, including western oftheFraSS. 
Germany and what is called France to-day. As time went on, ^^J^ 
the king's chief minister, who was called the Mayor of the proval, 75 2 
Palace, got almost all the power into his hands and really ruled 
in the place of the king. Charles Martel, who defeated the 
Mohammedans at Tours in 732, was the Mayor of the Palace 
of the western Frankish king. His son, Pippin the Short, finally 
determined to do away altogether with the old line of kings and 
put himself in their place. Before taking the decisive step, how- 
ever, he consulted the pope. To Pippin's question whether it 
was right that the old line of kings should continue to reign 
when they no longer had any power, the pope replied : "It 
seems better that he who has the power in the State should be 
king, and be called king, rather than he who is falsely called 
king." With this sanction, then (752), the Frankish counts and 
dukes, in accordance with the old German ceremony, raised 
Pippin on their shields, in somewhat the way college boys now- 
adays carry off a successful football player on their shoulders. 
He was then anointed king by St. Boniface, the apostle to the 
Germans, of whom we have spoken, and received the blessing 
of the pope. 1 

It would hardly be necessary to mention this change of dynasty 
in so short a history as this, were it not that the calling in of the 

1 The old line of kings which was displaced by Pippin are known as the 
Merovingians. Pippin and his successors are called the Carolingian line. 

75 



76 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The 

coronation 
of Pippin 
a religious 
ceremony 



Origin of 
kings " by 
the grace 
of God " 



Charle- 
magne, 
ca. 742-814 



pope brought about a revolution in the ideas of kingship. The 
kings of the German tribes had hitherto usually been successful 
warriors who held their office with the consent of the people, 
or at least of the nobles. Their election was not a matter that 
concerned the Church at all. But when, after asking the pope's 
opinion, Pippin had the holy oil poured on his head, — in ac- 
cordance with an ancient religious custom of the Jews, — first 

by Bishop Boniface and later by 
the pope himself, he seemed to 
ask the Church to approve his 
usurpation. As the historian Gib- 
bon puts it, "A German chieftain 
was transformed into the Lord's 
anointed." The pope threatened 
with God's anger any one who 
should attempt to supplant the 
consecrated family of Pippin. 

It thus became a religious duty 
to obey the king and his succes- 
sors. He came to be regarded 
by the Church, when he had 
received its approval, as God's 
representative on earth. Here 
we have the beginning of the 
later theory of kings "by the 
grace of God," against whom it 
was a sin to revolt, however bad they might be. We shall see 
presently how Pippin's famous son Charlemagne received his 
crown from the hands of the pope. 

Charlemagne, who became king of all the Frankish realms in 
771, is the first historical personage among the German peoples 
of whom we have any satisfactory knowledge. 1 Compared with 

1 " Charlemagne " is the French form for the Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles 
the Great). We must never forget, however, that Charlemagne was a German, 
that he talked a German language, namely Frankish, and that his favorite palaces 
at Aix-la-Chapelle, Ingelheim, and Nimwegen were in German regions. 




Fig. 23. Charlemagne 

This bronze figure of Charle- 
magne on horseback was made 
in his time, and the artist may 
have succeeded in reproducing 
the general appearance of the 
emperor 



Charlemagne and his Empire 



77 



him, Theodoric, Clovis, Charles Martel, Pippin, and the rest are 
but shadowy figures. The chronicles tell us something of their 
deeds, but we can make only the vaguest inferences in regard 
to their appearance or 
character. 

Charlemagne's looks, 
as described by his sec- 
retary, so exactly corre- 
spond with the character 
of the king as exhibited 
in his reign that they are 
worthy of attention. He 
was tall and stoutly built ; 
his face was round, his 
eyes were large and keen, 
his nose somewhat above 
the common size, his 
expression bright and 
cheerful. The good pro- 
portions and grace of his 
body prevented the ob- 
server from noticing that 
his neck was rather short 
and his person somewhat 
too stout. His voice was 
clear, but rather weak 
for his big body. He 
delighted in riding and 
hunting, and was an ex- 
pert swimmer. His ex- 
cellent health and his 
physical endurance can 
alone explain the astonishing swiftness with which he moved 
about his 'vast realm and conducted innumerable campaigns 
against his enemies in widely distant regions in rapid succession. 




Fig. 24. Charlemagne and 
his Wife 

There is no picture of Charlemagne that 
we can be sure looked like him. The 
rather comical one here given occurs in a 
law document of about the year 820 and 
shows what passed for a picture in those 
days. It may be meant for Charlemagne 
and his wife, but some think that it is a 
religious painting representing the Angel 
Gabriel announcing the birth of Jesus to 
the Virgin Mary 



78 



Medieval and Alodem Times 



Charles was an educated man for his time, and one who knew 
how to appreciate and encourage scholarship. While at dinner 
he had some one read to him ; he delighted especially in history, 
and in St. Augustine's City of God. He tried to learn writing, 
which was an unusual accomplishment at that time for any but 
churchmen, but began too late in life and got no farther than 
signing his name. He called learned men to his court and did 
much toward reestablishing a regular system of schools. He 
was also constantly occupied with buildings and other public 
works calculated to adorn his kingdom. He himself planned the 
remarkable cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle and showed the greatest 
interest in its furnishings. He commenced two palaces, one 
near Mayence and the other at Nimwegen, in Holland, and had 
a long bridge constructed across the Rhine at Mayence. 

The impression which his reign made upon men's minds con- 
tinued to grow even after his death. He became the hero of a 
whole series of romantic adventures which were as firmly be- 
lieved for centuries as his real deeds. In the fancy of an old 
monk in the monastery of St. Gall, 1 writing of Charlemagne not 
long after his death, the king of the Franks swept over Europe 
surrounded by countless legions of soldiers who formed a very 
sea of bristling steel. Knights of superhuman valor formed his 
court and became the models of knighthood for the following 
centuries. Distorted but imposing, the Charlemagne of poetry 
meets us all through the Middle Ages. 

A study of Charlemagne's reign will make clear that he was 
a truly remarkable person, one of the greatest figures in the 
world's records and deservedly the hero of the Middle Ages. 

It was Charlemagne's ideal to bring all the German peoples 
together into one great Christian empire, and he was wonder- 
fully successful in attaining his end. Only a small portion of 
what is now called Germany was included in the kingdom ruled 



1 Professor Emerton {Introduction, pp. 183-185) gives an example of the 
style and spirit of the monk of St. Gall, who was formerly much relied upon 
for knowledge of Charlemagne. 



Charlemagne and his Empire 79 

over by Charlemagne's father, Pippin the Short. Frisia and 
Bavaria had been Christianized, and their rulers had been in- 
duced by the efforts of Charlemagne's predecessors and of the 
missionaries, especially Boniface, to recognize the overlordship 
of the Franks. Between these two half-independent countries 
lay the unconquered Saxons. They were as yet pagans and 
appear still to have clung to much the same institutions as those 
under which they had lived when the Roman historian Tacitus 
described them seven centuries earlier. 

The Saxons occupied the region beginning somewhat east The con- 
of Cologne and extending to the Elbe, and north to where the Saxons 
great cities of Bremen and Hamburg are now situated. They 
had no towns or roads and were consequently very difficult to 
conquer, as they could retreat, with their few possessions, into 
the forests or swamps as soon as they found themselves unable 
to meet an invader in the open field. Yet so long as they 
remained unconquered they constantly threatened the Frankish 
kingdom, and their country was necessary to the rounding out 
of its boundaries. Charlemagne never undertook, during his 
long military career, any other task half so serious as the 
subjugation of the Saxons, which occupied many years. 

Nowhere do we find a more striking example of the influence Conversion 
of the Church than in the reliance that Charlemagne placed 
upon it in his dealings with the Saxons. He deemed it quite 
as essential that after a rebellion they should promise to honor 
the Church and be baptized, as that they should pledge them- 
selves to remain true and faithful subjects of the king. He was 
in quite as much haste to found bishoprics and monasteries as 
to build fortresses. The law for the newly conquered Saxon 
lands issued some time between 775 and 790 provides the same 
death penalty for him who " shall have shown himself unfaithful 
to the lord king " and him who " shall scorn to come to baptism 
and shall wish to remain a pagan." 

Charlemagne believed the Christianizing of the Saxons so 
important a part of his duty that he decreed that any one should 



8o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Cooperation 
of the civil 
government 
and the 
Church 



Foundation 
of towns in 
northern 
Germany 



Charle- 
magne 
becomes 
king of the 
Lombards 



Foreign 
policy of 
Charle- 
magne 



suffer death who broke into a church and carried off anything 
by force. No one, under penalty of heavy fines, was to make 
vows, in the pagan fashion, at trees or springs, or partake of 
any heathen feasts in honor of the demons (as the Christians 
termed the heathen gods), or fail to present infants for baptism 
before they were a year old. 

These provisions are characteristic of the theory of the Middle 
Ages according to which the government and the Church went 
hand in hand in ordering and governing the life of the people. 
Disloyalty to the Church was regarded by the State as quite as 
serious a crime as treason against itself. While the claims of the 
two institutions sometimes conflicted, there was no question in 
the minds either of the king's officials or of the clergy that both 
the civil and ecclesiastical governments were absolutely neces- 
sary ; neither of them ever dreamed that they could get along 
without the other. 

Before the Frankish conquest the Saxons had no towns. Now, 
around the seat of the bishop, or about a monastery, men be- 
gan to collect, and towns and cities grow up. Of these the 
chief was Bremen, which is still one of the most important 
ports of -Germany. 

Summoned by the pope to protect him from his old enemies 
the Lombards, Charlemagne invaded Lombardy in 773 with a 
great army and took Pavia, the capital, after a long siege. The 
Lombard king was forced to become a monk, and his treasure 
was divided among the Frankish soldiers. Charlemagne then 
took the extremely important step, in 774, of having himself 
recognized by all the Lombard dukes and counts as king of 
the Lombards. 

So far we have spoken only of the relations of Charlemagne 
with the Germans, for even the Lombard kingdom was estab- 
lished by the Germans. He had, however, other peoples to deal 
with, especially the Slavs on the east (who were one day to build 
up the kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia and the vast Russian 
empire) and, on the opposite boundary of his dominion, the 



Charlemagne and his Empire 8 1 

Moors in Spain. Against these it was necessary to protect his 
realms, and the second part of Charlemagne's reign was devoted 
to what may be called his foreign policy. A single campaign in 
789 seems to have sufficed to subdue the Slavs, who lay to the 
north and east of the Saxons, and to force the Bohemians to 
acknowledge the supremacy of the Frankish king and pay 
tribute to him. 

The necessity of protecting the Frankish realms against any The 
new uprising of these non-German nations led to the establish- margraves" 
ment, on the confines of the kingdom, of marches, that is, districts 
under the military control of counts of the march, or margraves} 
Their business was to prevent any invasion of the interior of 
the kingdom. Much depended upon the efficiency of these 
men ; in many cases they founded powerful families and later 
helped to break up the empire by establishing themselves as 
practically independent rulers. 

At an assembly that Charlemagne held in 777, ambassadors Charlemagne 
appeared before him from certain dissatisfied Mohammedans 
in Spain. They had fallen out with the emir of Cordova 2 and 
now offered to become the faithful subjects of Charlemagne 
if he would come to their aid. In consequence of this embassy 
he undertook his first expedition to Spain in the following year. 
After some years of war the district north of the Ebro was con- 
quered by the Franks, and Charlemagne established there the 
Spanish march. In this way he began that gradual expulsion 
of the Mohammedans from the peninsula, which was to be car- 
ried on by slowly extending conquests until 1492, when Granada, 
the last Mohammedan stronghold, fell. 

1 The king of Prussia still has, among other titles, that of Margrave of Bran- 
denburg. The German word Mark is often used for " march " on maps of 
Germany. In English and French the title is " Marquis." 

2 The Mohammedan caliphate broke up in the eighth century, and the ruler 
of Spain first assumed the title of emir (about 756) and later (929) that of caliph. 
The latter title had originally been enjoyed only by the head of the whole Arab 
empire, who had his capital at Damascus, and later at Bagdad. 



in bpam 



82 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Establishment of a Line of Emperors in the West 



Charlemagne 
crowned 
emperor by 
the pope 



Charlemagne 
merited the 
title of 
emperor 



16. But the most famous of all the achievements of Charle- 
magne was his reestablishment of the Western Empire in the 
year 800. It came about in this wise. Charlemagne went to 
Rome in that year to settle a dispute between Pope Leo III 
and his enemies. To celebrate the satisfactory settlement of the 
dispute, the pope held a solemn service on Christmas Day in 
St. Peter's. As Charlemagne was kneeling before the altar 
during this service, the pope approached him and set a crown 
upon his head, saluting him, amid the acclamations of those 
present, as " Emperor of the Romans." 

The reasons for this extraordinary act, which Charlemagne 
insisted took him completely by surprise, are given in one of 
the Frankish histories, the Chronicles of Lorsch, as follows : 
" The name of Emperor had ceased among the Greeks, for they 
were under the reign of a woman [the Empress Irene], where- 
fore it seemed good both to Leo, the apostolic pope, and to the 
bishops who were in council with him, and to all Christian men, 
that they should name Charles, King of the Franks, as Emperor. 
For he held Rome itself, where the ancient Caesars had always 
dwelt, in addition to all his other possessions in Italy, Gaul, 
and Germany. Wherefore, as God had granted him all these 
dominions, it seemed just to all that he should take the title 
of Emperor, too, when it was offered to him at the wish of all 
Christendom." 

Charlemagne appears to have accepted gracefully the honor 
thus thrust upon him. Even if he had no right to the imperial 
title, it was obviously proper and wise to grant it to him under 
the circumstances. Before his coronation by the pope he was 
only king of the Franks and of the Lombards ; but his con- 
quests seemed to give him a right to a higher title which should 
include all his outlying realms. 

The empire thus reestablished in the West was considered to 
be a continuation of the Roman Empire founded by Augustus. 



Charlemagne and his Empire 8 3 

Charlemagne was reckoned the immediate successor of the em- Continuity of 
peror at Constantinople, Constantine VI, whom Irene had de- EmW™ 11 
posed and blinded. Yet, it is hardly necessary to say that the 
position of the new emperor had little in common with that of 
Augustus or Constantine. In the first place, the eastern em- 
perors continued to reign in Constantinople for. centuries, quite 
regardless of Charlemagne and his successors. In the second 
place, the German kings who wore the imperial crown after 
Charlemagne were generally too weak really to rule over Ger- 
many and northern Italy, to say nothing of the rest of western 
Europe. Nevertheless, the Western Empire, which in the twelfth 
century came to be called the Holy Roman Empire, endured for 
over a thousand years. It came to an end only in 1806, when 
Napoleon reconstructed southern Germany and the last of the 
emperors laid down the crown. 

The assumption of the title of emperor was destined to make The title of 
the German rulers a great deal of trouble. It constantly led sourceof 1 
them into unsuccessful efforts to keep control over Italy, which ^ ouble to the 

r J ' German 

really lay outside their natural boundaries. Then the circum- rulers 
stances under which Charlemagne was crowned made it possible 
for the popes to claim, later, that it was they who had transferred 
the imperial power from the old eastern line of emperors to 
Charlemagne and his family, and that this was a proof of their 
right to dispose of the crown as they pleased. The difficulties 
which arose necessitated many a weary journey to Rome for 
the emperors, and many unfortunate conflicts between them and 
the popes. 

How Charlemagne carried on his Government 

17. The task of governing his vast dominions taxed even the Difficulty 
highly gifted and untiring Charlemagne ; it was quite beyond go Srge an 
the power of his successors. The same difficulties continued to em P ire 
exist that had confronted Charles Martel and Pippin — above 
all, a scanty royal revenue and overpowerful officials, who were 
apt to neglect the interests and commands of their sovereign. 



84 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Charle- 
magne's 
farms 



Origin of 
titles of 
nobility 



The dark 

century 
before Charle- 
magne 



Charlemagne's income, like that of all medieval rulers, came 
chiefly from his royal estates, as there was no system of general 
taxation such as had existed under the Roman Empire. He 
consequently took the greatest care that his numerous planta- 
tions should be well cultivated, and that not even a turnip or an 
egg which was due him should be withheld. An elaborate set of 
regulations for his farms is preserved, which sheds much light 
upon the times. 1 

The officials upon whom the Frankish kings were forced to 
rely chiefly were the counts, the " hand and voice of the king " 
wherever he could not be in person. They were expected to 
maintain order, see that justice was done in their district, and 
raise troops when the king needed them. On the frontier were 
the counts of the march, or margraves (marquises), already 
mentioned. These titles, together with that of duke, still exist 
as titles of nobility in Europe, although they are no longer asso- 
ciated with any governmental duties except in cases where their 
holders have the right to sit in the upper House of Parliament. 

Charlemagne held assemblies of the nobles and bishops of 
his realm each spring or summer, at which the interests of the 
empire were considered. With the sanction of his advisers he 
issued an extraordinary series of laws, called capitidaries, a num- 
ber of which have been preserved. With the bishops and abbots 
he discussed the needs of the Church, and, above all, the neces- 
sity of better schools for both the clergy and laity. The reforms 
which he sought to introduce give us an opportunity of learning 
the condition in which Europe found itself after four hundred 
years of disorder. 

Charlemagne was the first important king since Theodoric 
to pay any attention to book learning. About 650 the supply 
of papyrus — a kind of paper that the Greeks and Romans 
used — had been cut off, owing to the conquest of Egypt by 
the Arabs, and as our kind of paper had not yet been invented, 



1 See extracts from these regulations, and an account of one of Charlemagne's 
farms, in Readings, chap. vii. 



Charlemagne and his Empire . 8 5 

there was only the very expensive parchment to write upon. 
While this had the advantage of being more durable than papy- 
rus, its high cost discouraged the copying of books. The eighth 
century — that immediately preceding Charlemagne's coronation 
— is commonly regarded as the most ignorant, the darkest, and 
the most barbarous period of the Middle Ages. 

Yet, in spite of this dark picture, there was promise for the The elements 
future. It was evident, even before Charlemagne's time, that preservecTby 
Europe was not to continue indefinitely in the path of ignorance. the church 
Latin could not be forgotten, for that was the language of the 
Church, and all its official communications were in that tongue. 
Consequently it was absolutely necessary that the Church should 
maintain some sort of education in order that there might be 
persons who knew enough to write a Latin letter and conduct 
the church services. Some of those who learned Latin must 
have used it to read the old books written by the Romans. Then 
the textbooks of the later Roman Empire x continued to be 
used, and these, poor as they were, contained something about 
grammar, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and other subjects. 

It seemed to Charlemagne that it was. the duty of the Church 
not only to look after the education of its own officers but to 
provide the opportunity of at least an elementary education for 
the people at large. In accordance with this conviction, he issued 
(789) an order to the clergy to gather together the children of 
both freemen and serfs in their neighborhood and establish 
schools " in which the boys may learn to read." 2 

It would be impossible to say how many of the abbots and Establish- 
bishops established schools in accordance with Charlemagne's monastery 
recommendations. It is certain that famous centers of learning the°'°Schooi 
existed at Tours, Fulda, Corbie, Orleans, and other places during of the 

. palace " 

his reign. Charlemagne further promoted the cause of education 
by the establishment of the famous " School of the palace " for 
the instruction of his own children and the sons of his nobles. 
He placed the Englishman Alcuin at the head of the school, 

1 See above, p. 30. 2 See headings, chap. vii. 



magne s time 



86 Medieval and Modern Times 

and called distinguished men from Italy and elsewhere as 
teachers. The best known of these was the historian Paulus 
Diaconus, who wrote a history of the Lombards, to which we 
owe most of what we know about them. 
Charlemagne Charlemagne appears to have been particularly impressed 
interested in w i tn tne constant danger of mistakes in copying books, a task 
religious frequently turned over to ignorant and careless persons. He 

thought it very important that the religious books should be 
carefully copied. It should be noted that he made no attempt 
to revive the learning of Greece and Rome. He deemed it 
quite sufficient if the churchmen would learn their Latin well 
enough to read the church services and the Bible intelligently. 
Discourage- The hopeful beginning that was made under Charlemagne 

cation after " ^ n the revival of education was destined to prove disappointing 
Charle- m i ts immediate results. It is true that the ninth century 

produced a few noteworthy men who have left works which 
indicate acuteness and mental training. But the break-up of 
Charlemagne's empire, the struggles between his descendants, 
the coming of new barbarians, and the disorder caused by the 
unruly feudal lords, who were not inclined to recognize any 
master, all combined to keep Europe back for at least two cen- 
turies more. Indeed, the tenth and the first half of the eleventh 
century seem, at first sight, little better than the seventh and 
the eighth. Yet ignorance and disorder never were quite so 
prevalent after, as they were before, Charlemagne. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 15. Explain the importance of the coronation of Pippin. 
Describe Charlemagne's appearance and character. How did the 
Church cooperate with Charlemagne in his efforts to incorporate the 
Saxons in his empire ? 

Section 16. What led to Charlemagne's becoming emperor? 
What modern countries did his empire include ? 

Section 17. What were the chief sources of Charlemagne's 
revenue? How did titles of nobility originate in medieval Europe? 
What did Charlemagne do for education? 




CHAPTER VI 

THE AGE OF DISORDER ; FEUDALISM 

The Disruption of Charlemagne's Empire 

18. It was a matter of great importance to Europe whether Division of 
Charlemagne's extensive empire held together or fell apart ma gne's 
after his death in 814. He does not seem to have had any em P ire 
expectation that it would hold together, because some years 
before his death he arranged that it should be divided among 
his three sons. But as two of these died before he did, it fell 
into the hands of the only surviving son, Louis, who succeeded 
his august father as king of all the various parts of the Frankish 
domains and was later crowned emperor. 

Louis, called the " pious," proved a feeble ruler. He tried Division of 
all sorts of ways of dividing the empire peaceably among his empire^nto 
rebellious and unruly sons, but he did not succeed, and after t . hree k * n s~ 

-' doms at 

his death they, and their sons as well, continued to fight over Mersen, 870 
the question of how much each should have. It is not neces- 
sary to speak of the various temporary arrangements that were 
made. Finally, it was agreed in 870, by the Treaty of Mersen. 

87 



88 



Medieval and Modern Times 



that there should be three states, a West Frankish kingdom, an 
East Frankish kingdom, and a kingdom of Italy. The West 
Frankish realm corresponded roughly with the present bound- 
aries of France and Belgium. Its people talked dialects derived 
from the spoken Latin, which the Romans had introduced after 
their army, under the command of Julius Caesar, conquered 
Gaul. The East Frankish kingdom included the rest of Charle- 
magne's empire outside of Italy and was German in language. 




Map of Treaty of Mersen 

This map shows the division of Charlemagne's empire made in 870 by 
his descendants in the Treaty of Mersen 



Obstacles to 
maintaining 
order 



Each of the three realms established by the Treaty of Mersen 
was destined finally to grow into one of the powerful modern 
states which we see on the map of Europe to-day, but hundreds 
of years elapsed before the kings grew strong enough to con- 
trol their subjects, and the Treaty of Mersen was followed by 
several centuries of constant disorder and local warfare. Let us 
consider the difficulties which stood in the way of peace. 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 89 

In the first place, a king found it very hard to get rapidly Bad roads 
from one part of his realms to another in order to put down 
rebellions, for the remarkable roads which the Romans had so 
carefully constructed to enable their armies to move about had 
fallen into disrepair. 

To have good roads one must be constantly working on 
them, for the rains wash them out and the floods carry away the 
bridges. As there was ho longer a body of engineers employed 
by the government to keep up the roads and repair the bridges, 
they often became impassable. In the East Frankish kingdom 
matters must have been worse than in the West Frankish realm, 
for the Romans had never conquered Germany and consequently 
no good roads had ever been constructed there. 

Besides the difficulty of getting about quickly and easily, the Lack of 
king had very little money. This was one of the chief troubles gov^rnment^ 
of the Middle Ages. There are not many gold or silver mines officials 
in western Europe, and there was no supply of precious metals 
from outside, for commerce had largely died out. So the king 
had no treasury from which to pay the many officials which 
an efficient government finds it necessary to employ to do its 
business and to keep order. As we have seen, he had to give 
his officers, the counts and margraves, land instead of money, 
and their land was so extensive that they tended to become 
rulers themselves within their own possessions. 

Of course the king had not money enough to support a stand- No perma- 
ing army, which would have enabled him to put down the con- 
stant rebellions of his distant officers and of the powerful and 
restless nobility whose chief interest in life consisted in fighting. 

In addition to the weakness and poverty of the kings there New 
was another trouble, — and that the worst of all, — namely, the 
constant new invasions from all directions which kept all three 
parts of Charlemagne's empire, and England besides, in a con- 
stant state of terror and disaster. These invasions were almost 
as bad as those which had occurred before Charlemagne's time ; 
they prevented western Europe from becoming peaceful and 



invasions 



90 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The Moham- 
medans 
attack Italy 
and southern 
France 



prosperous and serve to explain the dark period of two hundred 
years which followed the break-up of Charlemagne's empire. 

• We know how the Mohammedans had got possession of 
northern Africa and then conquered Spain, and how Charles 
Martel had frustrated their attempt to add Gaul to their pos- 
sessions. But this rebuff did not end their attacks on southern 
Europe. They got control of the island of Sicily shortly after 




Fig. 25. Amphitheater at Arles in the Middle Ages 

The great Roman amphitheater at Aries (built probably in the first or 
second century) is about fifteen hundred feet in circumference. During 
the eighth century, when the Mohammedans were invading southern 
France, it was converted into a fortress. Many of the inhabitants settled 
inside its walls, and towers were constructed, which still stand. The pic- 
ture shows it before the dwellings were removed, about 1830 



Slavs and 
Hungarians. 



Charlemagne's death, and then began to terrorize Italy and 
southern France. Even Rome itself suffered from them. 
The accompanying picture shows how the people of Aries, 
in southern France, built their houses inside the old Roman 
amphitheater in order to protect themselves from these Moham- 
medan invaders. 

On the east the German rulers had constantly to contend 
with the Slavs. Charlemagne had defeated them in his time, as 




Fig. 26. Monastery of St. Germain des Pres, Paris 

This famous monastery, now in the midst of Paris, was formerly outside 
of the walls when the town was much smaller, and was fortified as shown 
in the picture, with a moat (C) and drawbridge (D). One can see the 
abbey church (A), which still stands; the cloister (B) ; the refectory, or 
dining room (E) ; and the long dormitory (G). It was common in the 
age of disorder to fortify monasteries and sometimes even churches, as 
nothing was so sacred as to protect it from the danger of attack 

• 9i 



92 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The North- 
men 



Growing 
power and 
independ- 
ence of the 
great land- 
owners 



mentioned above, but they continued to make much trouble for 
two centuries at least. Then there were also the Hungarians, 
a savage race from Asia, who ravaged Germany and northern 
Italy and whose wild horsemen penetrated even into the West 
Frankish kingdom. Finally, they were driven back eastward and 
settled in the country now named after them — Hungary. 

And lastly there came the Northmen, bold and adventurous 
pirates from the shores of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. 
These skillful and daring seamen not only attacked the towns 
on the coast of the West Frankish kingdom but made their way 
up the rivers, plundering and burning the villages and towns 
as far inland as Paris. In England we shall find them, under 
the name of Danes, invading the country and forcing Alfred the 
Great to recognize them as the masters of northern England. 1 

So there was danger always and everywhere. If rival nobles 
were not fighting one another, there were foreign invaders of 
some kind devastating the country, bent on robbing, maltreat- 
ing, and enslaving the people whom they found in towns and 
villages and monasteries. No wonder that strong castles had 
to be built and the towns surrounded by walls ; even the mon- 
asteries, which were not of course respected by pagan invaders, 
were in some cases protected by fortifications. 

In the absence of a powerful king with a well-organized army 
at his back, each district was left to look out for itself. Doubt- 
less many counts, margraves, bishops, and other great landed 
proprietors who were gradually becoming independent princes 
earned the loyalty of the people about them by taking the lead 
in defending the country against its invaders and by estab- 
lishing fortresses as places of refuge when the community was 
hard pressed. These conditions serve to explain why such 
government as continued to exist during the centuries following 
the death of Charlemagne was necessarily carried on mainly, 
not by the king and his officers, but by the great landholders. 



1 These Scandinavian pirates are often called vikings, from their habit of leav- 
ing their long boats in the vik, which meant, in their language, " bay " or " inlet." 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 



93 



The Medieval Castle 

19. As one travels through England, France, or Germany The medie- 
to-day he often comes upon the picturesque ruins of a medieval va cast e 
castle perched upon some rocky cliff and overlooking the sur- 
rounding country for miles. As he looks at the thick walls 
often surrounded by a deep, wide trench once filled with water, 




Fig. 27. A Medieval Castle near Klagenfurt, Austria 

It was not uncommon in mountainous regions to have fortresses 

perched so high on rocky eminences that it was practically 

impossible to capture them 



and observes the great towers with their tiny windows, he can- 
not but wonder why so many of these forts were built, and why 
people lived in them. It is clear that they were never intended 
to be dwelling places for the peaceful households of private 
citizens ; they look rather like the fortified palace of a ruler. 
Obviously, whoever lived there was in constant expectation of 
being attacked by an army, for otherwise he would never have 



94 



Medieval and Modern Times 



gone to the trouble and expense of shutting himself up in those 
dreary, cold, stone rooms, behind walls from ten to twenty feet 
thick. We can picture the great hall of the castle crowded 
with the armed followers of the master of the house, ready to 
fight for him when he wished to make war on a neighbor; 
or if he himself were attacked, they would rush to the little 
windows and shoot arrows at those who tried to approach, or 




Fig. 28. Machine for Hurling Stones 

This was a medieval device for throwing stones and bolts of iron, which, 
were often heated red hot before they were fired. It consisted of a great 
bow (A) and the beam (B), which was drawn back by the windlass (C) 
turned by a crank applied at the point (D). Then a stone was put in 
the pocket (F) and the trigger pulled by means of the string (£). This 
let the beam fly up with a bang against the bumper, and the missile went 
sailing against the wall or over it among the defenders of the castle 

pour lighted pitch or melted lead down on their enemies if they 
were so bold as to get close enough to the walls. 

The Romans had been accustomed to build walls around their 
camps, and a walled camp was called ca strum ; and in such 
names as Rochester, Winchester, Gloucester, Worcester, we 
have reminders of the fact that these towns were once fort- 
resses. These camps, however, were all government fortifica- 
tions and did not belong to private individuals. 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 



95 



But as the Roman Empire grew weaker and the disorder Early castles 
caused by the incoming barbarians became greater, the various 
counts and dukes and even other large landowners began to 
build forts for- themselves, usually nothing more than a great 
round mound of earth surrounded by a deep ditch and a wall 
made of stakes interwoven with twigs. On the top of the mound 
was a wooden fortress, surrounded by a fence or palisade, 




Fig. 29. Medieval Battering-ram 

This is a simple kind of a battering ram which was trundled up to the 

walls of a besieged castle and then swung back and forth by a group 

of soldiers, with the hope of making a breach. The men were often 

protected by a covering over the ram 



similar to the one at the foot of the mound. This was the type 
of " castle " that prevailed for several centuries after Charle- 
magne's death. There are no remains of these wooden castles 
in existence, for they were not the kind of thing to last very long, 
and those that escaped being burned or otherwise destroyed, 
rotted away in time. 

About the year n 00 these wooden buildings began to be re- improved 
placed by great square stone towers. This was due to the fact J^ck lead 
that the methods of attacking, castles had so changed that wood to use of 

° ° stone towns 

was no longer a sufficient protection. The Romans when they about uoo 
besieged a walled town were accustomed to hurl great stones 
and heavy-pointed stakes at the walls and over them. They had 
ingenious machines for this purpose, and they also had ways of 










Fig. 30. Movable Tower 

This attacking tower was rolled up to the wall of the besieged town 
after the moat had been filled up at the proper point. The soldiers then 
swarmed up the outside and over a bridge onto the wall. Skins of ani- 
mals were hung on the side to prevent the tower from being set on fire 



96 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 



97 



protecting their soldiers when they crept up to the walls with 
their battering-rams and pickaxes in the hope of making a breach 
and so getting into the 
town. But the Ger- 
man barbarians who 
overran the Roman 
Empire were unaccus- 
tomed to these ma- 
chines which therefore 
had fallen into disuse. 
But the practice of 
taking towns by means 
of them was kept up 
in the Eastern Empire, 
and during the Cru- 
sades, which, as we 
shall see, began about 
1 1 oo (see Chapter IX, 
below), they were in- 
troduced once more 
into western Europe, 
and this is the reason 
why stone castles be- 
gan to be built about 
that time. 

A square tower 
(Fig. 31) can, how- 
ever, be more easily 
attacked than a round 
tower, which has no 




Fig. 31. Tower of Beaugency 

This square donjon not far from Orleans, 
France, is one of the very earliest square 
towers that survive. It is a translation into 
stone of the wooden donjons that prevailed 
up to that time. It was built about 1 100 just 
after the beginning of the First Crusade. It 
is about 76 by 66 feet in size and 115 feet high 



corners, so a century 
later round towers be- 
came the rule and continued to be used until about the year 
1500, when gunpowder and cannon had become so common 
that even the strongest castle could no longer be defended, 



9 8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



General 
arrangement 
of a castle 




3Frr.a--i'i 



for it could not withstand the force of cannon balls. The 
accompanying pictures give an idea of the stone castles built 
from about noo to 1450 or 1500. They also show how a 
stone-throwing machine, such as was used before the invention 
of cannon, was constructed (Fig. 28). 

As we have no remains or good pictures of the early wooden 
castles on a mound, we must get our notions of the arrangement 

of a castle from the 
later stone fortresses, 
many of which can still 
be found in Europe. 
When the castle was 
not on a steep rocky 
hill, which made it very 
hard to approach, a 
deep ditch was con- 
structed outside the 
walls, called the moat. 
This was filled with 
water and crossed by 
a bridge, which could 
be drawn up when the 
castle was attacked, 
leaving no way of 
getting across. The 
doorway was further 
protected by a grating 
of heavy planks, called 
the portcullis, which could be quickly dropped down to close the 
entrance (Fig. 32). Inside the castle walls was the great donjon, 
or chief tower, which had several stories, although one would not 
suspect it from its plain exterior. There was sometimes also a fine 
hall, as at Coucy (Fig. 33), and handsome rooms for the use of the 
lord and his family, but sometimes they lived in the donjon. There 
were buildings for storing supplies and arms, and usually a chapel. 




Fig. 3: 



:. Fortified Gate of a 
Medieval Castle 



Here one can see the way in which the 
entrance to a castle was protected : the 
the drawbridge (B) ; the port- 
cullis (C) 



moat {A) 




Fig. 33. Coucy le Chateau 

This castle of Coucy le Chateau was built by a vassal of the king of 
France in the thirteenth century. It is at the end of a hill and protected 
on all sides but one by steep cliffs. One can see the moat (A) and the 
double drawbridge and towers which protected the portal. The round 
donjon is probably the largest in the world, 100 feet in diameter and 
210 feet high. At the base its walls are 34 feet thick. At the end of the 
inner court (C) was the residence of the lord (D). To the left of the 
court was a great hall, and to the right the quarters of the garrison 



99 



IOO 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The Serfs and the Manor 



The manor 
and serfs 



The manor, 
or vil 



Condition 
of the serfs 



The obliga- 
tions of the 
serfs 



20. Obviously the owner of the castle had to obtain supplies 
to support his family and servants and armed men. He could 
not have done this had he not possessed extensive tracts of land. 
A great part of western Europe in the time of Charlemagne 
appears to have been divided into great estates or plantations. 

These medieval estates were called vils, or manors, and closely 
resembled the Roman villas described in an earlier chapter. 1 
The peasants who tilled the soil were called villains, a word 
derived from vil. A portion of the estate was reserved by the 
lord for his own use ; the rest of the plowed land was divided 
up among the peasants, usually in long strips, of which each 
peasant had several scattered about the manor. 

The peasants were generally serfs who did not own their 
fields, but could not, on the other hand, be deprived of them 
so long as they worked for the lord and paid him certain dues. 
They were attached to the land and went with it when it changed 
hands. The serfs were required to till those fields which the 
lord reserved for himself and to gather in his crops. They might 
not marry without their lord's permission. Their wives and 
daughters helped with the indoor work of the manor house. In 
the women's buildings the women serfs engaged in spinning, 
weaving, sewing, baking, and brewing, thus producing clothes, 
food, and drink for the whole community. 

We get our clearest ideas of the position of the serfs from 
the ancient descriptions of manors, which give an exact account 
of what each member of a particular community owed to the 
lord. For example, we find that the abbot of Peterborough 
held a manor upon which Hugh Miller and seventeen other 
serfs, mentioned by name, were required to work for him three 
days in each week during the whole year, except one week at 
Christmas, one at Easter, and one at Whitsuntide. Each serf 
was to give the lord abbot one bushel of wheat and eighteen 

1 See above, p. 12. 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 101 

sheaves of oats, three hens, and one cock yearly, and five eggs at 
Easter. If he sold his horse for more than ten shillings, he was 
to give the said abbot fourpence. Five other serfs, mentioned by 
name, held but half as much land as Hugh and his companions, 
by paying and doing in all respects half as much service. 

One of the most remarkable characteristics of the manor was 
its independence of the rest of the world. It produced nearly 



i 



*&. 








Fig. 34. PlERREFONDS 

This castle of Pierrefonds, not very far from Paris, was built by the 
brother of the king of France, about 1400. It has been very carefully 
restored in modern times and gives one a good idea of the way in which 
the feudal lords of that period lived. Within the walls is a hand- 
some central courtyard and magnificent apartments 

everything that its members needed, and might almost have con- 
tinued to exist indefinitely without communication with those who 
lived beyond its bounds. Little or no money was necessary, 
for the peasants paid what was due to the lord in the form of 
labor and farm products. They also rendered the needful help 
to one another and found little occasion for buying and selling. 



102 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The monot- 
ony and 
misery of the 
peasants* 
lives 



Barter re- 
placed by 
money 
transactions 



There was almost no opportunity to better one's condition, 
and life must have gone on for generation after generation in a 
weary routine. And the life was not merely monotonous, it was 
wretched. The food was coarse and there was little variety, as 
the peasants did not even take pains to raise fresh vegetables. 
The houses usually had but one room, which was ill-lighted by 
a single little window and had no chimney. 

The increased use of money in the twelfth and thirteenth 
centuries, which came with the awakening trade and industry, 
tended to break up the manor. The old habit of trading one 
thing for another without the intervention of money began to 
disappear. As time went on, neither the lord nor the serf was 
satisfied with the old system, which had answered well enough 
in the time of Charlemagne. The serfs, on the one hand, began 
to obtain money by the sale of their products in the markets of 
neighboring towns. They finally found it more profitable to pay 
the lord a certain sum instead of working for him, for they 
could then turn their whole attention to their own farms. 

The landlords, on the other hand, found it to their advantage 
to accept money in place of the services of their tenants. With 
this money the landlord could hire laborers to cultivate his fields 
and could buy the luxuries which were brought to his notice as 
commerce increased. So it came about that the lords gradually 
gave up their control over the peasants, and there was no longer 
very much difference between the serf and the freeman who 
paid a regular rent for his land. A serf might also gain his lib- 
erty by running away from his manor to a town. If he remained 
undiscovered, or was unclaimed by his lord, for a year and a 
day, he became a freeman. 1 



1 The slow extinction of serfdom in western Europe appears to have begun 
as early as the twelfth century. A very general emancipation had taken place in 
England and France during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, though there 
were still some serfs in France when the revolution came in 1 789. Germany was 
far more backward in this respect. We find the peasants revolting against their 
hard lot in Luther's time (1 524-1 525), and it was not until the beginning of the 
nineteenth century that the serfs were freed in Prussia. 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 103 

These manors served to support their lords and left them 
free to busy themselves fighting with other landowners in the 
same position as themselves. 

Feudal System 

21. Landholders who had large estates and could spare a Lord and 
portion of them were accustomed to grant some of their manors vassa 
to another person on condition that the one receiving the land 
would swear to be true to the giver, should fight for him on 
certain occasions, and should lend him aid when particular diffi- 
culties arose. It was in this way that the relation of lord and 
vassal originated. The vassal who received the land pledged 
himself to be true to his lord, and the lord, on the other hand, 
not only let his vassal have the land but agreed to protect him 
when it was necessary. These arrangements between vassals The feudal 
and lords constituted what is called the feudal system. 

The feudal system, or feudalism, was not established by 
any decree of a king or in virtue of any general agreement be- 
tween all the landowners. It grew up gradually and irregularly 
without any conscious plan on any one's part, simply because 
it seemed convenient and natural under the circumstances. 
The owner of vast estates found it to his advantage to par- 
cel them out among vassals, that is to say, men who agreed to 
accompany him to war, guard his castle upon occasion, and 
assist him when he was put to any unusually great expense. 
Land granted upon the terms mentioned was called a fief. One The fief 
who held a fief might himself become a lord by granting a 
portion of his fief to a vassal upon terms similar to those upon 
which he held his lands of his lord, or suzerain. 

The vassal of a vassal was called a subvassal. There was Vassal and 
still another way in which the number of vassals was increased. 
The owners of small estates were usually in a defenseless con- 
dition, unable to protect themselves against the attacks of the 
great nobles. They consequently often deemed it wise to put 



104 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Homage and 
fidelity, or 
" Fealty " 



Obligations 
of the vassal. 
Military 
service 



Other feudal 
obligations 



their land into the hands of a neighboring lord and receive it 
back from him as a fief. They thus became his vassals and 
could call upon him for protection. 

The one proposing to become a vassal knelt before the lord 
and rendered him homage x by placing his hands between those 
of the lord and declaring himself the lord's " man " for such and 
such a fief. Thereupon the lord gave his vassal the kiss of 
peace and raised him from his kneeling posture. Then the 
vassal swore an oath of fidelity upon the Bible, or some holy 
relic, solemnly binding himself to fulfill all his duties toward his 
lord. This act of rendering homage by placing the hands in 
those of the lord and taking the oath of fidelity was the first 
and most essential duty of the vassal (Fig. 35). For a vassal to 
refuse to do homage for his fief when it changed hands 
amounted to a declaration of revolt and independence. 

The obligations of the vassal varied greatly. 2 He was ex- 
pected to join his lord when there was a military expedition on 
foot, although it was generally the case that the vassal need not 
serve at his own expense for more than forty days. . The rules 
in regard to the length of time during which a vassal might 
be called upon to guard the castle of his lord varied almost 
infinitely. 

Besides the military service due from the vassal to his lord, 
he was expected to attend the lord's court when summoned. 
There he sat with other vassals to hear and pronounce upon 
those cases in which his fellow vassals were involved. Moreover 



1 " Homage " is derived from the Latin word homo, meaning " man." 

2 The conditions upon which fiefs were granted might be dictated either by 
interest or by mere fancy. Sometimes the most fantastic and seemingly absurd 
obligations were imposed. We hear of vassals holding on condition of attending 
the lord at supper with a tall candle, or furnishing him with a great yule log at 
Christmas. Perhaps the most extraordinary instance upon record is that of a lord 
in Guienne who solemnly declared upon oath, when questioned by the commis- 
sioners of Edward I, that he held his fief of the king upon the following terms : 
When the lord king came through his estate he was to accompany him to a cer- 
tain oak. There he must have waiting a cart loaded with wood and drawn by two 
cows without any tails. When the oak was reached, fire was to be applied to the 
cart and the whole burned up, " unless mayhap the cows make their escape." 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 



105 



he had to give the lord the benefit of his advice when required, 
and attend him upon solemn occasions. 

Under certain circumstances vassals had to make money 
payments to their lord ; as, for instance, when the lord was 
put to extra expense by the necessity of knighting his eldest 
son or providing a dowry for his daughter, or when he was 
captured by an enemy 
and was held for ransom. 
Lastly, the vassal might 
have to entertain his lord 
should he be passing his 
castle. There are amus- 
ingly detailed accounts 
in some of the feudal 
contracts of exactly how ■ 
often the lord might 
come, how many fol- 
lowers he might bring, 
and what he should have 
to eat. 

There were fiefs of 
all kinds and of all 
grades of importance, 
from that of a duke or 
count, who held directly 
of the king and exercised 
the powers of a practi- 
cally independent prince, 

down to the holding of the simple knight, whose bit of land, 
cultivated by peasants or serfs, was barely sufficient to enable 
him to support himself and provide the horse upon which he 
rode to perform his military service for his lord. 

It is essential to observe that the fief was not granted for a 
certain number of years, or simply for the life of the grantee, 
to go back at his death to the owner. On the contrary, it became 



Money pay- 
ments 




Fig. 35. Ceremony of Homage 

This is a modern picture of the way in 
which the ceremony of homage took place. 
The new vassal is putting his hands be- 
tween those of his lord. To the left are 
retainers in their chain armor, and back 
of the lord and his lady is the jester, or 
court fool, whose business it is to amuse 
his master when he needs entertainment 



its conse 
quences 



1 06 Medieval and Modern Times 

The heredi- hereditary in the family of the vassal and passed down to the 
oTfiefs^nd Cr eldest son from one generation to another. So long as the 
vassal remained faithful to his lord and performed the stipu- 
lated services, and his successors did homage and continued to 
meet the conditions upon which the fief had originally been 
granted, neither the lord nor his heirs could rightfully regain 
possession of the land. 

The result was that little was left to the original owner of the 
fief except the services and dues to which the practical owner, 
the vassal, had agreed in receiving it. In short, the fief came 
really to Belong to the vassal, and only the shadow of owner- 
ship remained in the hands of the lord. Nowadays the owner 
of land either makes some use of it himself or leases it for a 
definite period at a fixed money rent. But in the Middle Ages 
most of the land was held by those who neither really owned it 
nor paid a regular rent for it, and yet who could not be deprived 
of it by the nominal owner or his successors. 
Subvassals of Obviously the great vassals who held directly of the king 
underTis" became almost independent of him as soon as their fiefs were 
granted to them and their descendants. Their vassals, since 
they had not done homage to the king himself, often paid little 
attention to his commands. From the ninth to the thirteenth 
century, the king of France or the king of Germany did not 
rule over a great realm occupied by subjects who owed him 
obedience as their lawful sovereign, paid him taxes, and were 
bound to fight under his banner as the head of the State. As 
a feudal landlord himself, the king had a right to demand fidel- 
ity and certain services from those who were his vassals. But 
the great mass of the people over whom he nominally ruled, 
whether they belonged to the nobility or not, owed little to the 
king directly, because they lived upon the lands of other feudal 
lords more or less independent of him. 



control 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 107 

Neighborhood Warfare in the Middle Ages 

22. One has only to read a chronicle of the time to discover The feudal 
that brute force governed almost everything outside of the Sine^oniy 1 " 
Church. The feudal obligations were not fulfilled except when b y force 
the lord was sufficiently powerful to enforce them. The oath of 
fidelity was constantly broken, and faith was violated by both 
vassal and lord. 

It often happened that a vassal was discontented with his 
lord and transferred his allegiance to another. This he had 
a right to do under certain circumstances, as, for instance, 
when his lord refused to see that justice was done him in his 
court. But such changes were generally made merely for the 
sake of the advantages which the faithless vassal hoped to gain. 
The records of the time are full of accounts of refusal to do 
homage, which was the commonest way in which a vassal re- 
volted from his lord. So soon as a vassal felt himself strong 
enough to face his lord's displeasure, or when the lord was 
a helpless child, the vassal was apt to declare his independence 
by refusing to recognize as his lord the one from whom he had 
received his land. 

We may say that war, in all its forms, was the law of the 
feudal world. War formed the chief occupation of the restless 
nobles who held the land and were supposed to govern it. An 
enterprising vassal was likely to make war upon each of the 
lords to whom he had done homage ; secondly, upon the bishops 
and abbots with whom he was brought into contact, and whose 
control he particularly disliked ; thirdly, upon his fellow vassals ; 
and lastly, upon his own vassals. The feudal bonds, instead of 
offering a guarantee of peace and concord, appear to have been 
a constant cause of violent conflict. Every one was bent upon 
profiting by the permanent or temporary weakness of his neigh- 
bor. This chronic fighting extended even to members of the 
same family ; the son, anxious to enjoy a part of his heritage 
immediately, warred against his father, younger brothers against 



108 Medieval and Modern Times 

older, and nephews against uncles who might seek to deprive 
them of their rights. 

In theory, the lord could force his vassals to settle their dis- 
putes in an orderly manner before his court; but often he was 
neither able nor inclined to bring about a peaceful adjustment, 
and he would frequently have found it hard to enforce the 
decisions of his own court. So the vassals were left to fight 
out their quarrels among themselves, and they found their chief 
interest in life in so doing. War was practically sanctioned by 
law. This is shown by two striking examples. The great French 
code of laws of the thirteenth century and the Golden Bull, a 
most important body of law drawn up for Germany in 1356, 
did not prohibit neighborhood war, but merely provided that 
it should be conducted in what was considered a decent and 
gentlemanly way. 

Justs and tourneys were military exercises — play wars — to 
fill out the tiresome periods which occasionally intervened be- 
tween real wars. They were, in fact, diminutive battles in which 
whole troops of hostile nobles sometimes took part. These 
rough plays called down the condemnation of the popes and 
even of the kings. The latter, however, were much too fond of the 
sport themselves not to forget promptly their own prohibitions. 

The horrors of this constant fighting led the Church to try 
to check it. About the year 1000 several Church councils in 
southern France decreed that the fighters were not to attack 
churches or monasteries, churchmen, pilgrims, merchants, and 
women, and that they must leave the peasant and his cattle 
and plow alone.. Then Church councils began to issue what 
was known as the " Truce of God," which provided that all 
warfare was to stop during Lent and various other holy days 
as well as on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of every 
week. During the truce no one was to attack any one else. 
Those besieging castles were to refrain from any assaults during 
the period of peace, and people were to be allowed to go quietly 
to and fro on their business without being disturbed by soldiers 



The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 109 

If any one failed to observe the truce, he was to be excom- 
municated by the Church — if he fell sick no Christian should 
dare to visit him, and on his deathbed he was not to receive the 
comfort of a priest, and his soul was consigned to hell if he 
had refused to repent and mend his ways. It is hard to say 
how much good the Truce of God accomplished. Some of the 
bishops and even the heads of great monasteries liked fighting 
pretty well themselves. It is certain that many disorderly lords 
paid little attention to the truce, and found three days a week 
altogether too short a time for plaguing their neighbors. 

Yet we must not infer that the State ceased to exist altogether The kings 
during the centuries of confusion that followed the break-up of the better of 
Charlemagne's empire, or that it fell entirely apart into little }J^ d g eudal 
local governments independent of each other. In the first place, 
a king always retained some of his ancient majesty. He might 
be weak and without the means to enforce his rights and to 
compel his more powerful subjects to meet their obligations 
toward him. Yet he was, after all, the king, solemnly anointed 
by the Church as God's representative on earth. He was always 
something more than a feudal lord. The kings were destined to 
get the upper hand before many centuries in England, France, 
and Spain, and finally in Italy and Germany, and to destroy the 
castles behind whose walls their haughty nobles had long defied 
the royal power. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 18. What led to the breaking up of Charlemagne's em- 
pire? What is the importance of the Treaty of Mersen? What 
were the chief obstacles that prevented a king in the early Middle 
Ages from really controlling an extensive realm? What invasions 
occurred in western Europe after Charlemagne's time ? Tell what 
you can of the Northmen. 

Section 19. Describe the changes that took place during the 
Middle Ages in the method of constructing castles. Describe the 
arrangement of a castle. 



no Medieval and Modern Times 

Section 20. What was a manor, and what Roman institution did 
it resemble? What was a serf? What were the chief services that 
a serf owed to his master? What effect did the increased use of 
money have upon serfdom? 

Section 21. Define "lord," "vassal," "fief," "homage," "feudal- 
ism." What services did a vassal owe to his lord? What effects did 
feudalism have upon the power of the kings ? 

Section 22. What is meant by neighborhood warfare ? Why was 
it very common in the Middle Ages ? What was the Truce of God ? 



CHAPTER VII 

ENGLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES 

The Norman Conquest 

23. The country of western Europe, whose history is of importance 

greatest interest to English-speaking peoples, is, of course, Eng- m t he S history 

land. From England the United States and the vast English of western 

° fe Europe 

colonies have inherited their language and habits of thought, 

much of their literature, and many of their laws and institutions. 
In this volume it will not, however, be possible to study Eng- 
land except in so far as it has played a part in the general 
development of Europe. This it has greatly influenced by its 
commerce and industry and colonies, as well as by the example 
it was the first to set in modern times of permitting the people 
to share with the king in the government. 

The conquest of the island of Britain by the German Angles Overlordship 
and Saxons has already been spoken of, as well as the con- 
version of these pagans to Christianity by Augustine and his 
monks. 1 The several kingdoms founded by the German invaders 
were brought under the overlordship of the southern kingdom 
of Wessex by Egbert, a contemporary of Charlemagne. 

But no sooner had the long-continued invasions of the Ger- invasion of 
mans come to an end and the country been partially unified T heir defeat 
than the Northmen (or Danes, as the English called them), who ]^ ^eat 
were ravaging France (see above, p. 92), began to make incur- 871-901 
sions into England. Before long they had conquered a large 
district north of the Thames and were making permanent set- 
tlements. They were defeated, however, in a great battle by 
Alfred the Great, the first English king of whom we have any 

1 See above, pp. 61 sq. 
Ill 



112 



Medieval and Modem Times 



England 
from the 
death of 
Alfred the 
Great to 
the Norman 
Conquest, 
901-1066 



France in the 
Middle Ages 



Formation 
of small 
independent 
states in 
France 



Normandy 



satisfactory knowledge. He forced the Danes to accept Christi- 
anity, and established, as the boundary between their settlements 
and his own kingdom of Wessex, a line running from London 
across the island to Chester. 

But more Danes kept coming, and the Danish invasions con- 
tinued for more than a century after Alfred's death (901). 
Sometimes they were bought off by a money payment called the 
Danegeld, which was levied on the people of England like any 
other tax. But finally a Danish king (Cnut) succeeded in making 
himself king of England in 1017. This Danish dynasty main- 
tained itself, however, for only a few years. Then a last weak 
Saxon king, Edward the Confessor, reigned for twenty years. 

Upon his death one of the greatest events in all English 
history occurred. The most powerful of the vassals of the king 
of France crossed the English Channel, conquered England, and 
made himself king. This was William, Duke of Normandy. 

We have seen how Charlemagne's empire broke up, and how 
the feudal lords became so powerful that it was difficult for the 
king to control them. The West Frankish kingdom, which we 
shall hereafter call France, was divided up among a great many 
dukes and counts, who built strong castles, gathered armies and 
fought against one another, and were the terror alike of priest, 
merchant, and laborer. (See above, sections 18 and 22.) 

In the tenth century certain great fiefs, like Normandy, Brit- 
tany, Flanders, and Burgundy, developed into little nations, each 
under its line of able rulers. Each had its own particular cus- 
toms and culture, some traces of which may still be noted by 
the traveler in France. These little feudal states were created 
by certain families of nobles who possessed exceptional energy 
or statesmanship. By conquest, purchase, or marriage they in- 
creased the number of their fiefs, and they insured their control 
over their vassals by promptly destroying the castles of those 
who refused to meet their obligations. 

Of these subnations none was more important or interesting 
than Normandy. The Northmen had been the scourge of those 



England in the Middle Ages 113 

who lived near the North Sea for many years before one of 
their leaders, Rollo (or Hrolf), agreed in 9 1 1 to accept from 
the West Frankish king a district on the coast, north of Brit- 
tany, where he and his followers might peacefully settle. Rollo 
assumed the title of Duke of the Normans, and introduced the 
Christian religion among his people. For a considerable time 
the newcomers kept up their Scandinavian habits and language. 
Gradually, however, they appropriated such culture as their 
neighbors possessed, and by the twelfth century their capital, 
Rouen, was one of the most enlightened cities of Europe. Nor- 
mandy became a source of infinite perplexity to the French 
kings when, in 1066, Duke William added England to his pos- 
sessions and the title of " the Conqueror " to his name ; for 
he thereby became so powerful that his overlord, the king 
of France, could hardly hope to control the Norman dukes 
any longer. 

William of Normandy claimed that he was entitled to the The struggle 
English crown, but we are somewhat in the dark as to the basis ^ C rown S " 
of his claim. There is a story that he had visited the court of u Uv ^ n Earl 
Edward the Confessor and had become his vassal on condition and Duke 
that, should Edward die childless, he was to declare William his Normandy 
successor. However this may be, Harold of Wessex assumed 
the crown upon Edward's death and paid no attention to William's 
demand that he should surrender it. 

William thereupon appealed to the pope, promising that if he The pope 
came into possession of England, he would see that the English 
clergy submitted to the authority of the Roman bishop. Conse- 
quently the pope, Alexander II, condemned Harold and blessed 
in advance any expedition that William might undertake to 
secure his rights. The conquest of England therefore took on 
the character of a sort of holy war, and as the expedition had 
been well advertised, many adventurers flocked to William's 
standard. During the spring and summer of 1066 ships were 
building in the various Norman harbors for the purpose of 
carrying William's army across the Channel. 



William's 
claim 



114 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Harold, the English king, was in a very unfavorable position 
to defend his crown. In the first place, while he was expecting 
William's coming, he was called to the north of England to repel 

a last invasion # of 
the fierce Norse- 
men, who had 
again landed in 
England and were 
devastating the 
coast towns. He 
was able to put 
them to flight, but 
as he was cele- 
brating his victory 
by a banquet news 
reached him that 
William had actu- 
ally landed with 
his Normans in 
southern England. 
It was autumn 
now and the peas- 
ants, who formed 
a large part of 
Harold's forces, 
had gone home 
to harvest their 
crops, so he had 
to hurry south 
with an insuffi- 
cient army. 

The English 
occupied the hill 
of Senlac, west 




Fig. 36. Abbaye aux Dames, Caen 

William the Conqueror married a lady, Matilda, 
who was remotely related to him. This was 
against the rules of the Church, and he took 
pains to get the pope's sanction to his marriage. 
But he and his queen were afraid that they might 
have committed a sin in marrying, so William 
built a monastery for men and Matilda a nunnery 
for women as a penance. The churches of these 
monasteries still stand in the Norman city of 
Caen. William was buried in his church. The 
picture represents the interior of Matilda's 
church and is a good example of what the 
English called the Norman style of architecture 



of 



Hastings, 



and 



England in the Middle Ages 115 

awaited the coming of the enemy. They had few horses and Battle of 
fought on foot with their battle-axes. The Normans had horses, October^ 
which they had brought across in their ships, and were supplied Io66 
with bows and arrows. The . English fought bravely and re- 
pulsed the Normans as they tried to press up the hillside. But 
at last they were thrown into confusion, and King Harold was 
killed by a Norman arrow which pierced his eye. 

William thus destroyed the English army in this famous battle William 
of Hastings, and the rightful English king was dead. But the J London 
Norman duke was not satisfied to take possession of England 
as a conqueror merely. In a few weeks he managed to induce 
a number of influential nobles and several bishops to agree to 
accept him as king, and London opened its gates to him. On 
Christmas Day, 1066, he was chosen king by an assembly in 
Westminster Abbey (where Harold had been elected a year 
before) and was duly crowned. 

In the Norman town of Bayeux a strip of embroidery is pre- The Bayeux 
served some two hundred and thirty feet long and eighteen 
inches wide. If it was not made by Queen Matilda, William's 
wife, and her ladies, as some have supposed, it belongs at any 
rate to the time of the Norman conquest of England, which it 
pictures with much detail. The accompanying colored repro- 
duction of two scenes shows the Normans landing with their 
horses from their ships on the English coast and starting for 
the battlefield of Hastings, and, in the second scene, the battle 
in actual progress ; the English are on their hill, trying to drive 
back the invaders. While the ladies could not draw very well, 
historians are able to get some ideas of the time from their 
embroidery. 

We cannot trace the history of the opposition and the revolts 
of the great nobles which William had to meet within the next 
few years. His position was rendered doubly difficult by troubles 
which he encountered on the Continent as Duke of Normandy. 
Suffice it to say, that he succeeded in maintaining himself against 
all his enemies. 



n6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



William's 
policy in 
England 



He insures 
his suprem- 
acy without 
interference 
with English 
customs 



William re- 
quires oath of 
fidelity from 
his subvas- 
sals 



William's policy in England exhibited profound statesman- 
ship. He introduced the Norman feudalism to which he was 
accustomed, but took good care that it should not weaken his 
power. The English, who had refused to join him before the 
battle of Hastings, were declared to have forfeited their lands, 
but were permitted to keep them upon condition of receiving 
them back from the king as his vassals. The lands of those 
who actually fought against him at Hastings, or in later rebel- 
lions, including the great estates of Harold's family, were seized 
and distributed among his faithful followers, both Norman 
and English, though naturally the Normans among them far 
outnumbered the English. 

William declared that he did not propose to change the Eng- 
lish customs but to govern as Edward the Confessor, the last 
Saxon king, had done. He maintained the Witenagemot, a 
council made up of bishops and nobles, whose advice the Saxon 
kings had sought in all important matters. But he was a man 
of too much force to submit to the control of his people. He 
avoided giving to any one person a great many estates in a 
single region, so that no one should become inconveniently 
powerful. Finally, in order to secure the support of the smaller 
landholders and to prevent combinations against him among 
the greater ones, he required every landowner in England to 
take an oath of fidelity directly to him, instead of having only a 
few great landowners as vassals who had their own subvassals 
under their own control, as in France. 

We read in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1086): " He came, 
on the first day of August, to Salisbury, and there came to 
him his wise men (that is, counselors), and all the land-owning 
men of property there were over all England, whosoever men 
they were ; and all bowed down to him and became his men, 
and swore oaths of fealty to him that they would be faithful to 
him against all other men." 

It is clear that the Norman Conquest was not a simple change 
of kings, but that a new element was added to the English 





tts» ; 




=_.. 



England in the Middle Ages ny 

people. We cannot tell how many Normans actually emigrated General re- 
across the Channel, but they evidently came in considerable NormanCon- 
numbers, and their influence upon the English habits and gov- ( l uest 
ernment was very great. A century after William's conquest 
the whole body of the nobility, the bishops, abbots, and govern- 
ment officials, had become practically all Norman. Besides these, 
the architects who built the castles and fortresses, the cathe- 
drals and abbeys, came from Normandy. Merchants from the 
Norman cities of Rouen and Caen settled in London and other 
English cities, and weavers from Flanders in various towns 
and even in the country. For a short time these newcomers 
remained a separate people, but by the year 1200 they had 
become for the most part indistinguishable from the great mass 
of English people amongst whom they had come. They had 
nevertheless made the people of England more energetic, active- 
minded, and varied in their occupations and interests than they 
had been before the conquest. 

Henry II and the Plantagenets 

24 . William the Conqueror was followed by his sons, William William 

Rufus and Henry I. Upon the death of the latter the country f^^f 7 ' 

went through a terrible period of civil war, for some of the Hem 7 J > 
l noo-1135 

nobility supported the Conqueror's grandson Stephen, and some 

his granddaughter Matilda. After the death of Stephen, when ing in the ac- 

Henry II, Matilda's son, 1 was finally recognized in 1 154 by all Henry 1 1° 

as king, he found the kingdom in a melancholy state. The ^S4- ll ^9 

nobles had taken advantage of the prevalent disorder to erect 

castles without royal permission and to establish themselves 

as independent rulers, and many disorderly hired soldiers had 

been brought over from the Continent to support the rivals for 

the throne. 

Henry II at once adopted vigorous measures. He destroyed 
the illegally erected fortresses, sent off the foreign soldiers, and 

1 See genealogical table below, p. 122. 



n8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Henry's diffi- 
culties and 
his success 
in meeting 
them 



Trial by jury 



deprived many earls who had been created by Stephen and 
Matilda of their titles. Henry's task was a difficult one. He 
had need of all his tireless energy and quickness of mind to 
restore order in England and at the same time rule the wide 
realms on the Continent which he had either inherited or gained 

through his marriage 
with a French heiress. 
In order to avoid 
all excuse for the pri- 
vate warfare which 
L IMF--'--'' ^T | i 

HH9 9bp1 was such a persistent 

evil on the Continent, 
he undertook to im- 
prove and reform the 
law courts. He ar- 
ranged that his j udges 
should make regular 
circuits throughout 
the country, so that 
they might try cases 
on the spot at least 
once a year. We 
find, too, the begin- 
ning of our grand 
jury in a body of men 
in each neighborhood 
who were to be duly 
sworn in, from time to time, and should then bring accusations 
against such malefactors as had come to their knowledge. 

As for the " petty " or smaller jury of twelve, which actually 
tried the accused, its origin and history are obscure. Henry II's 
juries left the verdict for Heaven to pronounce in the ordeal ; 
but a century later we find the jury of twelve itself rendering 
verdicts. The plan of delegating to twelve men the duty of decid- 
ing on the guilt or innocence of a suspected person was very 




^.. 



Fig. 37. Norman Gateway at 
Bristol, England 

This beautiful gateway was originally the 

entrance to a monastery, begun in 1142. It 

is one of the finest examples of the Norman 

style of building to be seen in England 



England in the Middle Ages 



119 



different from the earlier 
systems. It resembled 
neither the Roman trial, 
where the judges made 
the decision, nor the 
medieval compurgation 
and ordeals (see above, 
p. 37). The decisions of 
Henry's judges were 
mainly drawn from old 
English custom, instead 
of from Roman law as 
in France, and they be- 
came the basis of the 
common law which is 
still used in all English- 
speaking countries. 

Henry's reign was em- 
bittered by the famous 
struggle with Thomas 
Becket, which illustrates 
admirably the peculiar 
dependence of the 
monarchs of his day 
upon the churchmen. 
Becket was born in 
London and became a 
churchman, but he grew 
up in the service of the 
king and was able to aid 
Henry in gaining the 
throne. Thereupon the 
new king made him 
his chancellor. Becket 
proved an excellent 




Fig. 38. Choir of Canterbury 
Cathedral 

The choir of Canterbury Cathedral was 
destroyed by fire four years after Thomas 
Becket was murdered there. The picture 
shows how it was rebuilt under Henry II 
during the years 117 5-1 184. The two lower 
rows of arches are the round kind that 
had been used up to that time, while the 
upper row shows how the pointed arch 
was coming in. (See below, section 44) 



120 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Thomas 

Becket 

chancellor 



Made Arch- 
bishop of 
Canterbury, 
Becket 
defends the 
cause of 
the Church 
against the 
king: 



Murder of 
Becket and 
Henry's 
remorse 



minister and defended the king's interest even against the 
Church. He was fond of hunting and of war and maintained 
a brilliant court from the revenues of the numerous church 
positions which he held. It appeared to Henry that there could 
be no better head for the English clergy than his sagacious 
and worldly chancellor. He therefore determined to make him 
Archbishop of Canterbury. 

In securing the election of Becket as Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, Henry intended to insure his own complete control of the 
Church. He proposed to punish churchmen who committed 
crimes, like other offenders, to make the bishops meet all the 
feudal obligations, and to prevent appeals to the pope. Becket, 
however, immediately gave up his gay life and opposed every 
effort of the king to reduce the independence of the Church. 
After a haughty assertion of the supremacy of the Church 
over the king's government, 1 Thomas fled from the wrathful 
and disappointed monarch to France and the protection of 
the pope. 

In spite of a patched-up reconciliation with the king, Becket 
proceeded to. excommunicate some of the great English prelates 
and, as Henry believed, was conspiring to rob his son of the 
crown. In a fit of anger, Henry exclaimed among his followers, 
" Is there no one to avenge me of this miserable churchman ? " 
Unfortunately certain knights took the rash expression literally, 
and Becket was murdered in his own cathedral of Canterbury, 
whither he had returned. The king really had no wish to resort 
to violence, and his sorrow and remorse when he heard of the 
dreadful deed, and his terror at the consequences, were most 
genuine. The pope proposed to excommunicate him. Henry, 
however, made peace with the papal legates by the solemn as- 
sertion that he had never wished the death of Thomas and by 
promising to return to Canterbury all the property which he had 
confiscated, to send money to aid in the capture of the Holy 
Sepulcher at Jerusalem, and to undertake a crusade himself. 



See below, section 



3°- 




The Plantagenet Possessions in England and France 



122 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The French 
possessions 
of the 
Plantagenets 



Philip Au- 
gustus of 
France, 
1180-1223 



Although Henry II was one of the most important kings in 
English history, he spent a great part of his time across the 
Channel in his French possessions. A glance at the accompany- 
ing map will show that rather more than half of his realms lay to 
the south of the English Channel. He controlled more territory 
in France than the French king himself. As great-grandson of 
William the Conqueror, he inherited the duchy of Normandy 
and the suzerainty over Brittany. His mother, Matilda, had mar- 
ried the count of Anjou and Maine, so that Henry II inherited 
these fiefs along with those which had belonged to William the 
Conqueror. Lastly, he had himself married Eleanor, heiress of the 
dukes of Guienne, and in this way doubled the extent of his French 
lands. 1 Henry II and his successors are known as the Plantag- 
enets, owing to the habit that his father, the count of Anjou, 
had of wearing a bit of broom (Latin, planta genista) in his helmet. 

So it came about that the French kings beheld a new State, 
under an able and energetic ruler, developing within their bor- 
ders and including more than half the territory over which they 
were supposed to rule. A few years before Henry II died, an 
ambitious monarch, Philip Augustus, ascended the French 
throne, and made it the chief business of his life to get control 
of his feudal vassals, above all, the Plantagenets. 

1 William the Conqueror, king of England (1066-1087) 



William II (Rufus) 
(1087-1100) 



Richard 
(1189-1199) 



Henry I (1100-1135), 

m. Matilda, daughter 

of Malcolm, king 

of Scotland 

I 

Matilda (d. 1167), 

m. Geoffrey Plantagenet, 

count of Anjou 

I 

Henry II (1154-1189), 

the first Plantagenet king, 

m. Eleanor of Aquitaine 



I 
Geoffrey (d. 1186) 

'I 
Arthur 



Adela, m. Stephen, 
count of Blois 

Stephen (11 35-1 154) 



1 

John 
(1199-1216) 

I 
Henry III 

(l2l6-I2/2 , » 



England in the Middle Ages 123 

Henry divided his French possessions among his three sons, Quarrels in 
Geoffrey, Richard, and John ; but father and sons were engaged f a JS s 
in constant disputes with one another, as none of them were 
easy people to get along with. Philip Augustus took advantage 
of these constant quarrels of the brothers among themselves 
and with their father. These quarrels were most fortunate for 
the French king, for had the Plantagenets held together they 
might have annihilated the royal house of France, whose narrow 
dominions their own possessions closed in on the west and south. 

So long as Hemy II lived there was little chance of expelling Richard the 
the Plantagenets from France ; but with the accession of his 
reckless son, Richard the Lion-Hearted, the prospects of the 
French king brightened wonderfully. Richard is one of the 
most famous of medieval knights, but he was a very poor ruler. 
He left his kingdom to take care of itself while he went upon 
a crusade to the Holy Land (see below, p. 177). He persuaded 
Philip Augustus to join him ; but Richard was too overbearing 
and masterful, and Philip too ambitious, to make it possible for 
them to agree for long. The king of France, who was physi- 
cally delicate, was taken ill on the way and was glad of the 
excuse to return home and brew trouble for his powerful vassal. 
When Richard himself returned, after several years of romantic 
but fruitless adventure, he found himself involved in a war with 
Philip Augustus, in the midst of which he died. 

Richard's younger brother, John, who enjoys the reputation John loses 
of being the most despicable of English kings, speedily gave possession 
Philip a good excuse for seizing a great part of the Plantagenet 
lands. John was suspected of conniving at the brutal murder of 
his nephew Arthur (the son of Geoffrey 1 ). He was also guilty 
of the less serious offense of carrying off and marrying a lady 
betrothed to one of his own vassals. Philip Augustus, as John's 
suzerain, summoned him to appear at the French court to answer 
the latter charge. Upon John's refusal to appear or to do 

1 Geoffrey, John's next older brother, who would naturally have succeeded 
Richard, died in 1186. 



s 
of his house 



124 



Medieval and Modern Times 



English 
kings still 
continued to 
hold south- 
western 
France 



John of Eng- 
land becomes 
a vassal of 
the pope 



homage for his continental possessions, Philip caused his court 
to issue a decree confiscating almost all of the Plantagenet 
lands, leaving to the English king only the southwest corner 
of France. 

Philip found little difficulty in possessing himself of Normandy 
itself, which showed no disinclination to accept him in place of 
the Plantagenets. Six years after Richard's death the English 
kings had lost all their continental fiefs except Guienne. It 
should be observed that Philip, unlike his ancestors, was no 
longer merely suzerain of the new conquests, but made himself 
duke of Normandy, and count of Anjou, of Maine, etc. The 
boundaries of his domain — that is, the lands which he himself 
controlled directly as feudal lord — now extended to the sea. 

St. Louis, Philip's successor, arranged with John's successor 
in 1258 that the English king should do him homage for Guienne, 
Gascony, and Poitou and should surrender every claim on all the 
rest of the former possessions of the Plantagenets. So it came 
about that the English kings continued to hold a portion of France 
for several hundred years. 

John not only lost Normandy and other territories which had 
belonged to the earlier Norman kings but he actually consented 
to become the pope's vassal, receive England as a fief from 
the papacy, and pay tribute to Rome. This strange proceeding 
came about in this wise : The monks of Canterbury had (1205) 
ventured to choose an archbishop — who was at the same time 
their abbot x — without consulting King John. Their appointee 
hastened off to Rome to gain the pope's confirmation, while the 
irritated John forced the monks to hold another election and 
make his treasurer archbishop. The pope at that time was no 
less a person than Innocent III, one of the greatest of medieval 
rulers. 2 Innocent rejected both the men who had been elected, 
sent for a new deputation of monks from Canterbury, and bade 
them choose Stephen Langton, a man of great ability. John 
then angrily drove the monks of Canterbury out of the kingdom. 

1 See above, p. 63. 2 See below, p. 163. 



England in the Middle Ages 125 

Innocent replied by placing England under the interdict ; that England un- 
is to say, he ordered the clergy to close all the churches and ^fcV & mtet ' 
suspend all public services — a very terrible thing to the people 
of the time. John was excommunicated, and the pope threatened 
that unless the king submitted to his wishes he would depose 
him and give his crown to Philip Augustus of France. As Philip 
made haste to collect an army for the conquest of England, 
John humbly submitted to the pope in 12 13. He went so far 
as to hand England over to Innocent III and receive it back as 
a fief, thus becoming the vassal of the pope. He agreed also 
to send a yearly tribute to Rome. 



The Great Charter and. the Beginnings of 
Parliament 

25. We must now turn to the most important event in John's 
reign — the drawing up of the Great Charter of English 
liberties. 

When, in 12 13, John proposed to lead his English vassals The grant- 

, . . 1 • 1 ing of the 

across the water in order to attempt to reconquer his lost pos- Great char- 
sessions in France, they refused to accompany him on the ground ter ' I215 
that their feudal obligations did not bind them to fight outside 
of their country. Moreover, they showed a lively discontent with 
John's tyranny and his neglect of those limits of the kingly 
power which several of the earlier Norman kings had solemnly 
recognized. In 12 14 a number of the barons met and took a 
solemn oath that they would compel the king, by arms if neces- 
sary, to sign a charter containing the things which, according 
to English traditions, a king might not do. As John would not 
agree to do this, it proved necessary to get together an army 
and march against him. The insurgent nobles met him at 
Runnymede, not far from London. Here on the 15th of June, 
1 2 1 5 , they forced him to swear to observe what they believed 
to be the rights of his subjects, which they had carefully 
written out. 



126 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The provi- 
sions of the 
Charter 
and its 
importance 



Permanent 
value of 
the Charter 



The Great Charter is perhaps the most famous document in 
the history of government ; * its provisions furnish a brief and 
comprehensive statement of the burning governmental questions 
of that period. The nobles, who concluded this great treaty with 
a tyrannous ruler, saw that it was to their interest to have the 
rights of the common freeman safeguarded as well as their 
own. The king promises to observe the rights of his vassals, 
and the vassals in turn agree to observe the rights of their men. 
The towns are not to be oppressed. The merchant is not to be 
deprived of his goods for small offenses, nor the farmer of his 
wagon and implements. The king is to impose no tax, besides 
the three stated feudal aids, 2 except with the consent of the 
great council of the nation. This is to include the prelates and 
greater barons and all who hold directly of the king. 

There is no more notable clause in the Charter than that which 
provides that no freeman is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or 
deprived of his property, unless he be immediately sent before 
a court of his peers for trial. To realize the importance of this, 
we must recollect that in France, down to 1789, — nearly six 
hundred years later, — the king exercised such unlimited powers 
that he could order the arrest of any one he pleased, and could 
imprison him for any length of time without bringing him to 
trial, or even informing him of the nature of his offense. The 
Great Charter provided further that the king should permit 
merchants to move about freely and should observe the privileges 
of the various towns ; nor were his officers longer to be allowed 
to exercise despotic powers over those under them. 

In spite of his solemn confirmation of the Charter, John, 
with his accustomed treachery, made an unsuccessful attempt to 
break his promises in the Charter ; but neither he nor his suc- 
cessors ever succeeded in getting rid of the document. Later 
there were times when the English kings evaded its provisions 



1 Extracts from the Great Charter are given in the Readings, chap. xi. 

2 These were payments made when the lord knighted his eldest son. gave his 
eldest daughter in marriage, or had been captured and was waiting to be ransomed 



England ill the Middle Ages 127 

and tried to rule as absolute monarchs. But the people always 
sooner or later bethought them of the Charter, which thus con- 
tinued to form a barrier against permanent despotism in England. 

During the long reign of John's son, Henry III, England Henry ill, 
began to construct her Parliament, an institution which has not I21 ~ 1272 
only played a most important role in English history, but has 
also served as the model for similar bodies in almost every 
civilized state in the world. 

The Great Council of the Norman kings, like the older Wite- 
nagemot of Saxon times, was a meeting of nobles, bishops, and 
abbots, w r hich the king summoned from time to time to give 
him advice and aid, and to sanction important governmental 
undertakings. During Henry's reign its meetings became more 
frequent and its discussions more vigorous than before, and the 
name Parliament began to be applied to it. 

In 1265 a famous Parliament was held, where a most impor- The Com- 
tant new class of members — the commons — were present, who mon ed to 
were destined to give it its future greatness. In addition to the P a £ liament ; 
nobles and prelates, two simple knights were summoned from 
each county and two citizens from each of the more flourishing 
towns to attend and take part in the discussions. 

Edward I, the next king, definitely adopted this innovation. The Model 
He doubtless called in the representatives of the towns because Edward 6 ? ° 
the townspeople were becoming rich and he wished to have an I2 95 
opportunity to ask them to make grants of money to meet the 
expenses of the government. He also wished to obtain the 
approval of all classes when he determined upon important 
measures affecting the whole realm. Ever since the so-called 
" Model Parliament" of 1295, the commons, or representatives 
of the people, have always been included along with the clergy 
and nobility when the national assembly of England has been 
summoned. 

The Parliament early took the stand that the king must agree Redress of 
to " redress of grievances " before they would grant him any s nevance 
money. This meant that the king had to promise to remedy any 



28 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Growth of 
powers of 
Parliament 



House of 
Lords and 
House of 
Commons 



acts of himself or his officials of which Parliament complained 
before it would agree to let him raise the taxes. Instead of fol- 
lowing the king about and meeting wherever he might happen 
to be, the parliament from the time of Edward I began to hold 
its sessions in the city of Westminster, now a part of London, 
where it still continues to meet. 

Under Edward's successor, Edward II, Parliament solemnly 
declared in 1322 that important matters relating to the king and 
his heirs, the state of the realm and of the people should be con- 
sidered and determined upon by the king " with the assent of the 
prelates, earls and barons, and the commonalty (that is, com- 
mons) of the realm." Five years later Parliament showed its 
power by deposing the inefficient king, Edward II, and declared 
his son, Edward III, the rightful ruler of England. 

The new king, who was carrying on an expensive war with 
France, needed much money and consequently summoned Par- 
liament every year, and, in order to encourage its members to 
grant him money, he gratified Parliament by asking their advice 
and listening to their petitions. He passed no new law without 
adding " by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual 
and temporal and of the commons." 

At this time the separation of the two houses of Parliament 
took place, and ever since the " lords spiritual and temporal " — 
that is, the bishops and higher nobles — have sat by themselves 
in the House of Lords, and a House of Commons, including the 
country gentlemen (knights) and the representatives elected by 
the more important towns, have met by themselves. Parliament 
thus made up is really a modern, not a medieval, institution, 
and we shall hear much of it later. 



Extent of the 
king of 
England's 
realms before 
Edward I 
(1272-1307) 



Wales and Scotland 

26. The English kings who preceded Edward I had ruled 
over only a portion of the island of Great Britain. To the west 
of their kingdom lay the mountainous district of Wales, in- 
habited by that remnant of the original Britons which the 



England in the Middle Ages 1 29 

German invaders had been unable to conquer. To the north of 
England was the kingdom of Scotland, which was quite inde- 
pendent except for an occasional recognition by the Scotch 
kings of the English kings as their feudal superiors. Edward I, 
however, succeeded in conquering Wales permanently and 
Scotland temporarily. 

For centuries a border warfare had been carried on between The Welsh 
the English and the Welsh. William the Conqueror had found bards 6ir 
it necessary to establish a chain of fortresses on the Welsh fron- 
tier, and Chester, Shrewsbury, and Monmouth became the out- 
posts of the Normans. While the raids of the Welsh constantly 
provoked the English kings to invade Wales, no permanent con- 
quest was possible, for the enemy retreated into the mountains 
about Snowden, and the English soldiers were left to starve 
in the wild regions into which they had ventured. The Welsh 
were encouraged in their long and successful resistance against 
the English by the songs of their bards, who promised that 
their people would sometime reconquer the whole of England, 
which they had possessed before the coming of the Angles 
and Saxons. 

When Edward I came to the throne he demanded that Edward I 
Llewellyn, prince of Wales, as the head of the Welsh clans was waSes^ 
called, should do him homage. Llewellyn, who was a man of 
ability and energy, refused the king's summons, and Edward 
marched into Wales. Two campaigns were necessary before the 
Welsh finally succumbed. Llewellyn was killed (1282), and with 
him expired the independence of the Welsh people. Edward 
divided the country into shires and introduced English laws and 
customs, and his policy of conciliation was so successful that 
there was but a single rising in the country for a whole century. 
He later presented his son to the Welsh as their prince, and from 
that time down to the present the title of " Prince of Wales " The title of 
has usually been conferred upon the heir to the English throne. waTeT" ° 

The conquest of Scotland proved a far more difficult matter 
than that of Wales. 



30 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Lowlands and 
Highlands 
of Scotland 



When the German peoples — the Angles and Saxons — - con- 
quered Britain, some of them wandered north as far as the Firth 
of Forth and occupied the so-called Lowlands of Scotland. The 
mountainous region to the north, known as the Highlands, con- 
tinued to be held by wild tribes related to the Welsh and Irish 
and talking a language similar to theirs, namely Gaelic. There 
was constant warfare between the older inhabitants themselves 
and between them and the newcomers from Germany, but both 
Highlands and Lowlands were finally united under a line of 




Fig. 39. Conway Castle 

Edward built this fine castle in 1284 on the north coast of Wales, to 

keep the Welsh in check. Its walls are 12 to 15 feet in thickness. There 

were buildings inside, including a great banqueting hall 130 feet long 



Scottish kings, who moved their residence down to Edinburgh, 
which, with its fortress, became their chief town. 

It was natural that the language of the Scotch Lowlands 
should be English, but in the mountains the Highlanders to this 
day continue to talk the ancient Gaelic of their forefathers. 

It was not until the time of Edward I that the long series of 
ScoTcY affairs troubles between England and Scotland began. The death of 
the last representative old line of Scotch kings in 1290 was fol- 
lowed by the appearance of a number of claimants to the crown. 



Edward inter- 
venes in 



Scotland 
with England 



England in the Middle Ages 131 

In order to avoid civil war, Edward was asked to decide who 

should be king. He agreed to make the decision on condition 

that the one whom he selected should hold Scotland as 2, fief 

from the English king. This arrangement was adopted, and 

the crown was given to John Baliol. But Edward unwisely 

made demands upon the Scots which aroused their anger, and 

their king renounced his homage to the king of England. The 

Scotch, moreover, formed an alliance with Edward's enemy, Alliance be- 

Philip the Fair of France ; thenceforth, in all the difficulties ^f " nd co ' 

between England and France, the English kings had always France 

to reckon with the disaffected Scotch, who were glad to aid 

England's enemies. 

Edward marched in person against the Scotch (1269) and Edward at- 
speedily put down what he regarded as a rebellion. He declared corporate "* 
that Baliol had forfeited his fief through treason, and that con- 
sequently the English king had become the real ruler of Scot- 
land. He emphasized his claim by carrying off the famous 
Stone of Scone (now in Westminster Abbey), upon which the 
kings of Scotland, had been crowned for ages. Continued resist- 
ance led Edward to attempt to incorporate Scotland with Eng- 
land in the same way that he had treated Wales. This was the 
beginning of three hundred years of intermittent war between 
England and Scotland, which ended only when a Scotch king, 
James VI, succeeded to the English throne in 1603 as James I. 

That Scotland was able to maintain her independence was 
mainly due to Robert Bruce, a national hero who succeeded in 
bringing both the nobility and the people under his leadership. 
Edward I died, old and worn out, in 1307, when on his way 
north to put down a rising under Bruce, and left the task of 
dealing with the Scotch to his incompetent son, Edward II. 
The Scotch acknowledged Bruce as their king and decisively 
defeated Edward II in the great battle of Bannockburn, the Battle of 
most famous conflict in Scottish history. Nevertheless, the I3I4 
English refused to acknowledge the independence of Scotland 
until forced to do so in 1328. 



132 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Scottish 
nation differs 
from the 
English 



In the course of their struggles with England the Scotch 
people of the Lowlands had become more closely welded to- 
gether, and the independence of Scotland, although it caused 
much bloodshed, first and last, served to develop certain per- 
manent differences between the little Scotch nation and the rest 
of the English race. No Scotchman to the present day likes to 
be mistaken for an Englishman. The peculiarities of the lan- 
guage and habits of the people north of the Tweed have been 
made familiar to all readers of good literature by the novels of 
Sir Walter Scott and Robert L. Stevenson and by the poems 
of Robert Burns. 



The Hundred Years' War 



The Hun- 
dred Years' 
War 



Edward III 
claims the 
French 
crown 



Edward III 

invades 

France 



27. England and France were both becoming strong states in 
the early fourteenth century. The king in both of these countries 
had got the better of the feudal lords, and a parliament had been 
established in France as well as in England, in which the towns- 
people as well as the clergy and nobility were represented. But 
both countries were set back by a long series of conflicts known 
as the Hundred Years' War, which was especially disastrous to 
France. The trouble arose as follows : 

It will be remembered that King John of England had lost 
all the French possessions of the Plantagenets except the duchy 
of Guienne (see above, pp. 123-124). For this he had to do hom- 
age to the king of France and become his vassal. This arrange- 
ment lasted for many years, but in the times of Edward III 
the old French line of kings died out, and Edward declared 
that he himself was the rightful ruler of all France because his 
mother, Isabella, was a sister of the last king of the old line (see 
table on the next page). 

The French lawyers, however, decided that Edward had no 
claim to the French throne and that a very distant relative of 
the last king was the rightful heir to the crown (Philip VI). 
Edward, nevertheless, maintained that he was rightfully king of 



England in the Middle Ages 



133 



Battle of 
Crecy, 1346 



France. 1 He added the French emblem of the lilies (fleur-de- 
lis) to the lions on the English coat of arms (Fig. 40). In 
1346 he landed in Normandy with an English army, devas- 
tated the country and marched up the Seine toward Paris. He 
met the troops of Philip at Crecy, where a celebrated battle was 
fought, in which the English with their long bows and well- 
directed arrows put to rout the French knights. Ten years 
later the English made another incursion into France and again 
defeated the French cavalry. The French king (John II) was 
himself captured and carried off to London. 

The French Parliament, commonly called the Estates Gen- The French 
eral, came together to consider the unhappy state of affairs. (Estates" 
The members from the towns were more numerous than the General) 
representatives of the clergy and nobility. A great list of 



1 The French kings during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries : 
Louis IX (St. Louis) (1226-1270) 
Philip III (1270-1285) 



Philip IV, the Fair 
(1285-1314) 



Louis X 
(1314-1316) 

1 ~1 

daughter John 

(1316), 

an 

infant 

who died 

when but 

a few 
days old 



Charles of Valois, 
ancestor of the house of Valois 

I 

! 



Isabella, m. Philip V Charles IV 
Edward II (1316-1322) (1322-1328) 

Edward daughters daughter 



III of 
England 



Philip VI 
(1328-1350) 

John II 
(1350-1364) 



Charles V Philip, 
(1364-1380) founder of 
the power- 
Charles VI ful house 
(1380-1422) of Bur- 
| gundy 

Charles VII (1422-1461) 

I 
Louis XI (1461-1483) 

Charles VIII (1483-1498) 



134 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Contrast 
between the 
position of 
the Estates 
General and 
the English 
Parliament 



reforms was drawn up. These provided among other things that 
the Estates General should meet regularly even when the king 
failed to summon them, and that the collection and expenditure 
of the public revenue should be no longer entirely under the 
control of the king but should be supervised by the representa- 
tives of the people. The city of Paris rose in support of the 
revolutionary Estates, but the violence of its allies discredited 

rather than helped the move- 
ment, and France was soon 
glad to accept the unrestricted 
rule of its king once more. 

The history of the Estates 
General forms a curious con- 
trast to that of the English 
Parliament, which was laying 
the foundation of its later power 
during this very period. While 
the French king occasionally 
summoned the Estates when he 
needed money, he did so only in 
order that their approbation of 
new taxes might make it easier 
to collect them. He never 
admitted that he had not the 
right to levy taxes if he wished 
without consulting his subjects. 
In England, on the other hand, the kings ever since the time 
of Edward I had repeatedly agreed that no new taxes should 
be imposed without the consent of Parliament. Edward II, as 
we have seen, had gone farther and accepted the representatives 
of the people as his advisers in all important matters touching the 
welfare of the realm. While the French Estates gradually sank 
into insignificance, the English Parliament soon learned to grant 
no money until the king had redressed the grievances which it 
pointed out, and thus it insured its influence over the king's policy. 




Fig. 



40. Royal Arms 
Edward III 



OF 



On the upper left-hand quarter 

and the lower right-hand are the 

lilies as represented in heraldry 



England in the Middle Ages 135 

Edward III found it impossible, however, to conquer France, Edward 111 
and the successor of the French King, John II, managed before possible To 
Edward died in 1377 to get back almost all the lands that co nc i uer 
the English had occupied. 

For a generation after the death of Edward III the war with Miserable 
France was almost discontinued. France had suffered a great F°rance° n 
deal more than England. In the first place, all the fighting had 
been done on her side of the Channel, and in the second place, 
the soldiers, who found themselves without occupation, wandered 
about in bands maltreating and plundering the people. The 
famous Italian scholar, Petrarch, who visited France at this 
period, tells us that he could not believe that this was the 
same kingdom which he had once seen so rich and flourishing. 
" Nothing presented itself to my eyes but fearful solitude and 
extreme poverty, uncultivated land and houses in ruins. Even 
about Paris there were everywhere signs of fire and destruction. 
The streets were deserted ; the roads overgrown with weeds." 

The horrors of war had been increased by the deadly bubonic The bubonic 
plague which appeared in Europe early in 1348. In April it ^f-^o, 
had reached Florence ; by August it was devastating France caiie'd^he 7 
and Germany ; it then spread over England from the south- black death 
west northward, attacking every part of the country during the 
year 1349. This disease, like other terrible epidemics, such as 
smallpox and cholera, came from Asia. Those who were stricken 
with it usually died in two or three days. It is impossible to 
tell what proportion of the population perished. Reports of the 
time say that in one part of France but one tenth of the people 
survived, in another but one sixteenth ; and that for a long time 
five hundred bodies were carried from the great hospital of 
Paris every day. A careful estimate shows that in England 
toward one half of the population died. At the Abbey of New- 
enham only the abbot and two monks were left alive out of 
twenty-six. There were constant complaints that certain lands 
were no longer of any value to their lords because the tenants 
were all dead. 



136 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Conditions of 
.English labor 



The Statutes 
of Laborers 
issued in 
135 1 and fol- 
lowing years 



Breaking up 
of the medi- 
eval manors 
in England 



The peasant 
revolt of 1 38 1 



In England the growing discontent among the farming 
classes may be ascribed partly to the results of the great pesti- 
lence and partly to the new taxes which were levied in order to 
prolong the disastrous war with France. Up to this time the 
majority of those who cultivated the land belonged to some 
particular manor, paid stated dues to their lord, and performed 
definite services for him. Hitherto there had been relatively 
few farm hands who might be hired and who sought employ- 
ment anywhere that they could get it. The black death, by 
greatly decreasing the number of laborers, raised wages and 
served to increase the importance of the unattached laborer. 
Consequently he not only demanded higher wages than ever 
before but readily deserted one employer when another offered 
him more money. 

This appeared very shocking to those who were accustomed 
to the traditional rates of payment ; and the government under- 
took to keep down wages by prohibiting laborers from asking 
more than had been customary during the years that preceded 
the pestilence. Every laborer, when offered work at the estab- 
lished wages, was ordered to accept it on pain of imprisonment. 
The first "Statute of Laborers" was issued in 135 1 ; but 
apparently it was not obeyed and similar laws were enacted 
from time to time for a century. 

The old manor system was breaking up. Many of the labor- 
ing class in the country no longer held land as serfs but moved 
from place to place and made a living by working for wages. 
The villain, as the serf was called in England, began to regard 
the dues which he had been accustomed to pay to his lord as 
unjust. A petition to Parliament in 1377 asserts that the vil- 
lains are refusing to pay their customary services to their lords 
or to acknowledge the obligations which they owe as serfs. 

In 1 38 1 the peasants rose in revolt against the taxes levied 
on them to carry on the hopeless war with France. They burned 
some of the houses of the nobles and of the rich ecclesiastics, and 
took particular pains to see that the registers were destroyed 



England in the Middle Ages 137 

which were kept by the various lords enumerating the obligations 
of their serfs. 

Although the peasants met with little success, serfdom de- Final disap- 
cayed rapidly. It became more and more common for the serf serfXmin 
to pay his dues to the lord in money instead of working for him, En g land 
and in this way he lost one of the chief characteristics of a serf. 
The landlord then either hired men to cultivate the fields which 
he reserved for his own use, or rented the land to tenants. 
These tenants were not in a position to force their fellow 
tenants on the manor to pay the full dues which had formerly 
been exacted by the lord. Sixty or seventy years after the 
Peasants' War the English rural population had in one way or 
another become free men, and serfs had practically disappeared. 

The war between England and France almost ceased for Renewal of 
nearly forty years after the death of Edward III. It was re- Years ' r War 
newed in 1415, and the English king won another great victory in I4I 5 
at Agincourt, similar to that won at Crecy. Once more the 
English bowmen slaughtered great numbers of French knights. 
Fifteen years later the English had succeeded in conquering all 
of France north of the Loire River ; but a considerable region 
to the south still continued to be held by King Charles VII of 
France. He was weak and indolent and was doing nothing to 
check the English victories. The English were engaged in be- 
sieging the great town of Orleans when help and encourage- 
ment came to the French from a most unexpected quarter. A 
peasant girl put on a soldier's armor, mounted a horse, and led 
the faint-hearted French troops to victory. 

To her family and her companions Joan of Arc seemed only Joan of Arc 
" a good girl, simple and pleasant in her ways," but she 
brooded much over the disasters that had overtaken her coun- 
try, and a " great pity on the fair realm of France " filled her 
heart. She saw visions and heard voices that bade her go forth 
to the help of the king and lead him to Rheims to be crowned. 

It was with the greatest difficulty that she got anybody to 
believe in her mission or to help her to get an audience with 



138 Medieval and Modern Times 

Relief of her sovereign. But her own firm faith in her divine guidance 
joan^ag triumphed over all doubts and obstacles. She was at last ac- 
cepted as a God-sent champion and placed at the head of some 
troops dispatched to the relief of Orleans. This city, which was 
the key to southern France, had been besieged by the English 
for some months and was on the point of surrender. Joan, who 
rode at the head of her troops, clothed in armor like a man, 
had now become the idol of the soldiers and of the people. 
Under the guidance and inspiration of her courage, sound sense, 
and burning enthusiasm, Orleans was relieved and the English 
completely routed. The Maid of Orleans, as she was hence- 
forth called, was now free to conduct the king to Rheims, 
where he was crowned in the cathedral (July 17, 1429). 

The Maid now felt that her mission was accomplished and 
begged permission to return to her home and her brothers and 
sisters. To this the king would not consent, and she continued 
to fight his battles with success. But the other leaders were 
jealous of her, and even her friends, the soldiers, were sensitive 
to the taunt of being led by a woman. During the defense of 
Compiegne in May, 1430, she was allowed to fall into the hands 
of the Duke of Burgundy, who sold her to the English. They 
were not satisfied with simply holding as prisoner that strange 
maiden who had so discomfited them ; they wished to discredit 
everything that she had done, and so declared, and undoubtedly 
believed, that she was a witch who had been helped by the 
Execution of devil. She was tried by a court of clergymen, found guilty, 
and burned at Rouen in 1431. Her bravery and noble con- 
stancy affected even her executioners, and an English soldier 
who had come to triumph over her death was heard to ex- 
claim : "We are lost — we have burned a saint." The English 
cause in France was indeed lost, for her spirit and example had 
given new courage and vigor to the French armies. 
England The English Parliament became more and more reluctant to 

French grant funds when there were no more victories gained. From 

possessions ^ s t j me on ^q English lost ground steadily. They were 



England in the Middle Ages 1 39 

expelled from Normandy in 1450. Three years later, the last 
vestige of their possessions in southern France passed into the 

hands of the French king. The Hundred Years' War was End of the 

over, and although England still retained Calais, the great ques- Years' 1 War 

tion whether she should extend her sway upon the Continent I4 53 
was finally settled. 

The close of the Hundred Years' War was followed in Eng- The Wars of 

land by the Wars of the Roses, between the rival houses which tween°the 

were struggling for the crown. The badge of the house of ^ ouses of 

I_w3.nc3.st6r 

Lancaster was a red rose, and that of York was a white one. 1 and York, 
Each party was supported by a group of the wealthy and pow- 
erful nobles whose conspiracies, treasons, murders, and execu- 
tions fill the annals of England during the period which we have 
been discussing. 

The nobles no longer owed their power as they had in pre- Retainers 
vious centuries to vassals who were bound to follow them to 
war. Like the king, they relied upon hired soldiers. It was easy 
to find plenty of restless fellows who were willing to become 
the retainers of a nobleman if he would agree to clothe them 
and keep open house, where they might eat and drink their fill. 
Their master was to help them when they got into trouble, and 

1 Descent of the rival houses of Lancaster and York : 
Edward III (1327-1377) 

1 1 1 

Edward, John of Gaunt, Edmund, 

the Black Prince duke of Lancaster duke of York 

(d. 1376) , 1 I , 

I 



Richard II Henry IV (1399-1413) John Beaufort Richard 

(1377-1399) I 1 I 

Henry V (141 3-1422) John Beaufort Richard 

I 
Henry VI (1422-1461) 



1 h 

Edward IV Richard III 
(1461-1483) (1483-1485) 



Edmund Tudor, m. Margaret 
I 

Henry VII, m. Elizabeth of York Edward V, 

(1485-1509) murdered in 

first of the the Tower, 

Tudor kings 1483 



140 



Medieval and Modern Ti 



Dies 



Accession of 
Henry VII, 
1485 



The despot- 
ism of the 
Tudors 



France estab- 
lishes a stand- 
ing army, 
*439 



they on their part were expected to intimidate, misuse, and 
even murder at need those who opposed the interests of their 
chief. 

It is needless to speak of the several battles and the many 
skirmishes of the miserable Wars of the Roses. These lasted 
__^ from 1455, when the 

Duke of York set seri- 
ously to work to dis- 
place the weak-minded 
Lancastrian king (Henry 
VI), until the accession 
of Henry VII, of the 
house of Tudor, thirty 
years later. (See table 
on page 139.) 

The Wars of the 
Roses had important 
results. Nearly all the 
powerful families of 
England had been drawn 
into the war, and a great part of the nobility, whom the kings 
had formerly feared, had perished on the battlefield or lost 
their heads in the ruthless executions carried out by each 
party after it gained a victory. This left the king far more 
powerful than ever before- He could now control Parliament, 
even if he could not do away with it. For a century and more 
after the accession of Henry VII the Tudor kings enjoyed 
almost despotic power. England ceased for a time to enjoy 
the free government for which the foundations had been 
laid under the Edwards, whose embarrassments at home and 
abroad had made them constantly dependent upon the aid of 
the nation. 

In France the closing years of the Hundred Years' War 
had witnessed a great increase of the king's power through the 
establishment of a well-organized standing army. The feudal 




Fig. 41. Portrait of Henry VII 



England in the Middle Ages 141 

army had long since disappeared. Even before the opening 
of the war the nobles had begun to be paid for their military 
services and no longer furnished troops as a condition of hold- 
ing fiefs. But the companies of soldiers found their pay very 
uncertain, and plundered their countrymen as well as the 
enemy. 

As the war drew to a close, the lawless troopers became a 
terrible scourge to the country and were known &s flayers, on 
account of the horrible way in which they tortured the peasants 
in the hope of extracting money from them. In 1439 tne Estates 
General approved a plan devised by the king, for putting an 
end to this evil. Thereafter no one was to raise a company 
without the permission of the king, who was to name the 
captains and fix the number of the soldiers. 

The Estates agreed that the king should use a certain tax, The perma- 
called the taille, to support the troops necessary for the pro- f ata i to^the 
tection of the frontier. This was a fatal concession, for the EstSesGen- 6 
king now had an army and the right to collect what he chose to eral 
consider a permanent tax, the amount of which he later greatly 
increased ; he was not dependent, as was the English king, 
upon the grants made for brief periods by the representatives 
of the nation. 

Before the king of France could hope to establish a compact, The new 
well-organized state it was necessary for him to reduce the power 
of his vassals, some of whom were almost his equals in strength. 
The older feudal families had many of them succumbed to the 
attacks and the diplomacy of the kings of the thirteenth century, 
especially of St: Louis. But he and his successors had raised 
up fresh rivals by granting whole provinces to their younger 
sons. In this way new and powerful lines of feudal nobles were 
established, such, for example, as the houses of Orleans, Anjou, 
Bourbon, and, above all, Burgundy. The process of reducing 
the power of the nobles had, it is true, been begun. They had 
been forbidden to coin money, to maintain armies, and to tax 
their subjects, and the powers of the king's judges had been 



42 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Work of 
Louis XI 



England and 
France estab- 
lish strong 
national gov- 
ernments 



extended over all the realm. But the task of consolidating 
France was reserved for the son of Charles VII, the shrewd 
and treacherous Louis XI (i 461-1483). 

The most powerful and dangerous of Louis XI's vassals 
were the dukes of Burgundy, and they gave him a great deal of 
trouble. Of Burgundy something will be said in a later chapter. 

Louis XI had himself made 
heir to a number of provinces in 
central and southern France, — 
Anjou, Maine, Provence, etc., 
— which by the death of 
their possessors came under the 
king's immediate control (1 481). 
He humiliated in various ways 
the vassals who in his early 
days had combined against him. 
The Duke of Alencon he im- 
prisoned ; the rebellious Duke 
of Nemours he caused to be 
executed in the most cruel 
manner. Louis's aims were 
worthy, but his means were generally despicable. It some- 
times seemed as if he gloried in being the most rascally among 
rascals, the most treacherous among the traitors. 

Both England and France emerged from the troubles and 
desolations of the Hundred Years' War stronger than ever 
before. In both countries the kings had overcome the menace 
of feudalism by destroying the power of, the great families. 
The royal government was becoming constantly more powerful. 
Commerce and industry increased the people's wealth and sup- 
plied the monarchs with the revenue necessary to maintain gov- 
ernment officials and a sufficient army to keep order throughout 
their realms. They were no longer forced to rely upon the 
uncertain fidelity of their vassals. In short, England and 
France were both becoming modern states. 




Fig. 42. Louis XI of France 



England in the Middle Ages 1 43 

QUESTIONS 

Section 23. Tell what you can about England before the Nor- 
man Conquest. How did Normandy come into existence? How 
did William of Normandy get possession of England? What was 
William's policy after he conquered England ? 

Section 24. Mention some of the reforms of Henry II. Describe 
Henry's troubles with Thomas a. Becket. What was the extent of 
the possessions of the Plantagenets in France ? In what way did the 
French king succeed in getting a considerable part of the Plantagenet 
possessions into his own hands? Describe the chief events in the 
reign of King John of England. 

Section 25. How was the Great Charter granted, and what were 
some of its main provisions ? What is the English Parliament ? When 
was it formed ? What were its powers ? 

Section 26. When was Wales conquered by the English kings ? 
What are the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland ? Tell of the 
attempts of Edward I to get possession of Scotland. 

Section 27. Give the origin and general course of the Hundred 
Years' War under Edward III. Why did not the Estates General 
become as powerful as the English Parliament? Tell about the black 
death. What led to the disappearance of serfdom in England ? Give 
an account of Joan of Arc. What were the great causes of disorder 
in England during the generation before the accession of Henry VII ? 
Why did feudalism revive in France? What was accomplished by 
Louis XI ? 






g^l&i 










CHAPTER VIII 



Otto the 
Great (936- 
973) 



POPES AND EMPERORS 
Origin of the Holy Roman Empire 

28. Charlemagne's successors in the German part of his 
empire found it quite as hard as did the kings of the western, 
or French, kingdom to keep control of their vassals. Germany, 
like France, was divided up into big and little fiefs, and the 
dukes and counts were continually waging war upon each other 
and upon their king. The general causes of this chronic disorder 
in the Middle Ages have been described in a previous chapter. 

The first German ruler whom we need to notice here was 
Otto the Great, who came to the throne in the year 936. He 
got as many of the great fiefs as possible into the hands of his 
relatives in the hope that they would be faithful to him. He 
put an end forever to the invasions of the Hungarians who had 
been ravaging Germany. He defeated them in a great battle 
near Augsburg and drove them out of his realms. As has 
already been said (see above, p. 92), they finally settled in 
eastern Europe and laid the foundations of what is now the 
important State of Hungary. 

144 



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Longitude ;Ea8t .15 from Greenwich 



CRETE 



Popes and Emperors 145 

But the most noteworthy of Otto's acts was his interference 
in Italian affairs, which led to his winning for the German kings 
the imperial crown that Charlemagne had worn. We have seen 
how Charlemagne's successors divided up his realms into three 
parts by the Treaty of Mersen in 870 (see above, p. 88). One 
of these parts was the kingdom of Italy. We know but little 
of what went on in Italy for some time after the Treaty of 
Mersen. There was incessant warfare, and the disorder was 
increased by the attacks of the Mohammedans. Various power- 
ful nobles were able to win the crown for short periods. Three 
at least of these Italian kings were crowned emperor by the 
pope. Then for a generation there was no emperor in the west, 
until Otto the Great again secured the title. 

It would seem as if Otto had quite enough trouble at home, Otto the 
but he thought that it would make him and his reign more comes king of 
glorious if he added northern Italy to his realms. So in 951 1 It t aly ? nd 
he crossed the Alps, married the widow of one of the Italian crowned 
kings, and, without being formally crowned, was generally ac- 
knowledged as king of Italy. He had to hasten back to Ger- 
many to put down a revolt organized by his own son, but ten 
years later he was called to Rome by the pope to protect him 
from the attacks of his enemies. Otto accepted the invitation, 
and the grateful pope in return crowned him emperor, as 
Charlemagne's successor (962). 

The coronation of Otto was a very important event in Ger- 
man history ; for, from this time on, the German kings, instead 
of confining their attention to keeping their own kingdom in 
order, were constantly distracted by the necessity of keeping 
hold on their Italian kingdom, which lay on the other side of a 
great range of mountains. Worse than that, they felt that they 
must see to it that a pope friendly to them was elected, and 
this greatly added to their troubles. 

The succeeding German emperors had usually to make sev- 
eral costly and troublesome journeys to Rome, — a first one to 
be crowned, and then others either to depose a hostile pope or 



146 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Holy 
Roman 

Empire 



to protect a friendly one from the oppression of neighboring 
lords. These excursions were very distracting, especially to a 
ruler who left behind him in Germany a rebellious nobility that 
always took advantage of his absence to revolt. 

Otto's successors dropped their old title of king of the East 
Franks as soon as they had been duly crowned by the pope at 
Rome, and assumed the magnificent and all-embracing designa- 
tion, " Emperor Ever August of the Romans." * Their " Holy 
Roman Empire," as it came to be called later, which was to 
endure, in name at least, for more than eight centuries, was 
obviously even less like that of the ancient Romans than was 
Charlemagne's. As kings in Germany and Italy they had prac- 
tically all the powers that they enjoyed as emperors. The title 
of emperor was of course a proud one, but it gave the German 
kings no additional power except the fatal right that they claimed 
of taking part in the election of the pope. We shall find that, 
instead of making themselves -feared at home and building up 
a great state, the German emperors wasted their strength in 
a long struggle with the popes, who proved themselves in the 
end far stronger, and eventually reduced the Empire to a mere 
shadow. 



The Church and its Property 



Wealth of 
the Church 



29. In order to understand the long struggle between the 
emperors and the popes, we must stop a moment to consider 
the condition of the Church in the early Middle Ages. It 
seemed to be losing all its strength and dignity and to be 
falling apart, just as Charlemagne's empire had dissolved into 
feudal bits. This was chiefly due to the vast estates of the 
clergy. Kings, princes, and rich landowners had long con- 
sidered it meritorious to make donations to bishoprics and 



1 Henry II (1002-1024) and his successors, not venturing to assume the title 
of emperor till crowned at Rome, but anxious to claim Rome as attached to the 
German crown, began to call themselves, before their coronation, King of the 
Romans. 



Popes and Emperors 147 

monasteries, so that a very considerable portion of the land 
in western Europe had come into the hands of churchmen. 

A king, or other landed proprietor, might grant fiefs to The Church 
churchmen as well as to laymen. The bishops became the intc/the™™ 
vassals of the king or of other feudal lords by doing homage feudal 
for a fief and swearing fidelity, just as any other vassal would 
do. An abbot would sometimes secure for his monastery the 
protection of a neighboring lord by giving up his land and 
receiving it back again as a fief. 

One great difference, however, existed between the Church Fiefs held 
lands and the ordinary fiefs. According to the law of the m y e n not " 
Church, the bishops and abbots could not marry and so could heredltai 7 
have no children to whom they might transmit their property. 
Consequently, when a landholding churchman died, some one 
had to be chosen in his place who should enjoy his property 
and perform his duties. The rule of the Church had been, 
from time immemorial, that the clergy of the diocese should 
choose the bishop, their choice being ratified by the people. As 
for the abbots, they were, according to the Rule of St. Benedict, 
to be chosen by the members of the monastery. 

In spite of these rules, the bishops and abbots had come, Bishops 
in the tenth and eleventh centuries, to be selected, to all intents practically 
and purposes, by the various kings and feudal lords. It is true ^he feudal 
that the outward forms of a regular election were usually per- iords 
mitted ; but the feudal lord made it clear whom he wished 
chosen, and if the wrong person was elected, he simply refused 
to hand over to him the lands attached to the bishopric or 
abbey. The lord could in this way control the choice of the 
prelates, for in order to become a real bishop or abbot, one 
had not only to be elected, he had also to be solemnly " in- 
vested " with the appropriate powers of a bishop or abbot 
and with his lands. 

When a bishop or abbot had been duly chosen, the feudal investiture 
lord proceeded to the investiture. The new bishop or abbot first 
became the " man " of the lord by -doing him homage, and then 



148 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Attitude of 
the Church 
toward its 
property 



Attitude of 
the king 



Difficult 
position of 
the bishops 
in Germany 
and else- 
where 



the lord transferred to him the lands and rights attached to 
the office. No careful distinction appears to have been made 
between the property and the religious powers. The lord often 
conferred both by bestowing upon a bishop the ring and the 
crosier (see headpiece to Chapter X, p. 181), the emblems of 
religious authority. It seemed shocking enough that the lord, 
who was often a rough soldier, should dictate the selection of 
the bishops ; but it was still more shocking that he should assume 
to confer religious powers with religious emblems. Yet even 
worse things might happen, since sometimes the lord, for his 
greater convenience, had himself made bishop. 

The Church itself naturally looked at the property attached 
to a church office as a mere incident and considered the religious 
prerogatives the main thing. And since the clergy alone could 
rightly confer these, it was natural that they should claim the 
right to bestow the lands (" temporalities ") attached to them, 
upon whomsoever they pleased without consulting any layman 
whatever. 

Against this claim the king might urge that a simple minister 
of the Gospel, or a holy monk, was by no means necessarily 
fitted to manage the interests of a feudal state, such as the" 
great archbishoprics and bishoprics, and even the abbeys, had 
become in Germany and elsewhere in the eleventh century. 

In short, the situation in which the bishops found themselves 
was a very complicated one. (i) As an officer of the Church, 
the bishop saw to it that parish priests were properly selected 
and ordained, he tried certain cases in his court, and performed 
the Church ceremonies. (2) He managed the lands which be- 
longed to the bishopric, which might, or might not, be fiefs. 
(3) As a vassal of those who had granted lands to the bishopric 
upon feudal terms, he owed the usual feudal dues, including the 
duty of furnishing troops to his lord. (4) Lastly, in Germany, the 
king had found it convenient, from about the beginning of 
the eleventh century, to confer upon the bishops in many cases 
the authority of a count in the districts about them. In this 



Popes and Emperors 1 49 

way they might have the right to collect tolls, coin money, and 
perform other important governmental duties. When a prelate 
took office he was invested with all these various functions at 
once, both spiritual and governmental. 

To forbid the king to take part in the investiture was, con- 
sequently, to rob him not only of his feudal rights but also 
of his authority over many of his government officials, since 
bishops, and sometimes even abbots, were often counts in all 
but name. He therefore found it necessary to take care who 
got possession of the important church offices. 

Still another danger threatened the wealth and resources of The marriage 
the Church. During the tenth and eleventh centuries the rule threatenslhe 
of the Church prohibiting the clergy from marrying appears to p£ alth h of the 
have been widely neglected in Italy, Germany, France, and 
England. To the stricter people of the time this appeared a 
terrible degradation of the clergy, who, they felt, should be 
unencumbered by family cares and should devote themselves 
wholly to the service of God. The question, too, had another 
side. It was obvious that the property of the Church would 
soon be dispersed if the clergy were allowed to marry, since 
they would wish to provide for their children. Just as the 
feudal lands had become hereditary, so the church lands would 
become hereditary unless the clergy were forced to remain 
unmarried. 

Besides the feudalizing of its property and the marriage of Buying and 
the clergy, there was a third great and constant source of church offices 
weakness and corruption in the Church, at this period, namely, 
the temptation to buy and sell Church offices. Had the duties 
and responsibilities of the bishops, abbots, and priests always 
been heavy, and their income slight, there would have been 
little tendency to bribe those who could bestow the offices. But 
the incomes of bishoprics and abbeys were usually considerable, 
and sometimes very great, while the duties attached to the 
office of bishop or abbot, however serious in the eyes of the 
right-minded, might easjly be neglected by the unscrupulous. 



I5"0 Medieval and Modern Times 

The revenue from a great landed estate and the high rank 
that went with the office were enough to induce the members 
of the noblest families to vie with each other in securing Church 
positions. The king or prince who possessed the right of inves- 
titure was sure of finding some one willing to pay something 
for important benefices. 

Origin of the The sin of buying or selling Church offices was recognized 

term"simony" . T „ , „ . ,, •, , . , 

as a most serious one. It was called simony, a name derived 

from Simon the Magician, who, according to the account in the 
Acts of the Apostles, offered money to the Apostle Peter if he 
would give him the power of conferring the Holy Spirit upon 
those upon whom he should lay his hands. As the apostle 
denounced this first simonist, — " Thy silver perish with thee, 
because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money " 
(Acts ix, 20), — so the Church has continued ever since to 
denounce those who propose to purchase its sacred powers. 
Simony not Doubtless very few bought positions in the Church with the 

of a church Sa e view of obtaining the " gift of God," that is to say, the religious 
office. It was the revenue and the honor that were chiefly 
coveted. Moreover, when a king or lord accepted a gift from 
one. for whom he procured a benefice, he did not regard him- 
self as selling the office ; he merely shared its advantages. No 
transaction took place in the Middle Ages without accompany- 
ing gifts and fees of various kinds. 
Simony cor- The evil of simony was, nevertheless, very demoralizing, for 
lower clergy ft spread downward and infected the whole body of the clergy. 
A bishop who had made a large outlay in obtaining his office 
naturally expected something from the priests, whom it was his 
duty to appoint. Then the priest, in turn, was tempted to exact 
too much for baptizing and marrying his parishioners, and for 
burying the dead. 

So it seemed, at the opening of the eleventh century, as if 
the Church was to be dragged down by its property into the 
anarchy of feudalism described in a preceding chapter. 

1 Pronounced sh/i'o-ny. 



'59 



Popes and Emperors 1 5 1 

The popes had therefore many difficulties to overcome in 
the gigantic task which they undertook of making the Church 
a great international monarchy, like the Roman Empire, with 
its capital at Rome : The control exercised by kings and feudal 
lords in the selection of Church officials had to be done away 
with. Simony with its degrading effects had to be abolished. 
The marriage of the clergy had to be checked, for fear that the 
property and wealth of the Church would go to their families 
and so be lost to the Church. 

The first great step toward the freeing of the Church from Pope Nicho- 
the control of the kings and feudal lords was taken by Pope t ^ s e election* 
Nicholas II. In ioqo he issued a remarkable decree which of the popes 

° J in the hands 

took the election of the head of the Church once for all out of of the cardi- 
the hands of both the emperor and the people of Rome, and 
placed it definitely and forever in the hands of the cardinals, 
who represented the Roman clergy. 1 Obviously the object of 
this decree was to prevent all interference, whether of the dis- 
tant emperor, of the local nobility, or of the Roman mob. The 
college of cardinals still exists and still elects the pope. 

The reform party which directed the policy of the popes Oppositi 
had, it hoped, freed the head of the Church from the control of reforms 
worldly men by putting his election in the hands of the Roman 
clergy. It now proposed to emancipate the Church as a whole 
from the base entanglements of earth : first, by strictly for- 
bidding the married clergy to perform religious functions and by 
exhorting their flocks to refuse to attend their ministrations ; 
and secondly, by depriving the kings and feudal lords of their 
influence over the choice of the bishops and abbots, since this 

1 The word "cardinal" (Latin, cardinalis^ principal ") was applied to the priests 
of the various parishes in Rome, to the several deacons connected with the 
Lateran, — which was the cathedral church of the Roman bishopric, — and, lastly, 
to six or seven suburr3an bishops who officiated in turn in the Lateran. The title 
became a very distinguished one and was sought by ambitious foreign prelates 
and ecclesiastical statesmen, like Wolsey, Richelieu, and Mazarin. If their 
official titles were examined, it would be found that each was nominally a cardinal 
bishop, priest, or deacon of some Roman Church. The number of cardinals 
varied until fixed, in 1586, at six bishops, fifty priests, and fourteen deacons, 



152 Medieval and Modern Times 

influence was deemed the chief cause of worldliness among the 
prelates. Naturally these last measures met with far more 
general opposition than the new way of electing the pope. 
The magnitude of the task which the popes had undertaken 
first became fully apparent when the celebrated Gregory VII 
ascended the papal throne, in 1073. 

Powers claimed by the Popes 

The Dictatus 30. Among the writings of Gregory VII there is a very brief 
vii ' statement, called the Dictatus \ of the powers which he believed 

the popes to possess. Its chief claims are the following: The 
pope enjoys a unique title ; he is the only universal bishop and 
may depose and reinstate other bishops or transfer them from 
place to place. No council of the Church may be regarded as 
speaking for Christendom without his consent. The Roman 
Church has never erred, nor will it err to all eternity. No one 
may be considered a Catholic Christian who does not agree with 
the Roman Church. No book is authoritative unless it has 
received the papal sanction. 

Gregory does not stop with asserting the pope's complete 

supremacy over the Church. He says that " the Pope is the 

only person whose feet are kissed by all princes " ; that he may 

depose emperors and " absolve subjects from allegiance to an 

unjust ruler." No one shall dare to condemn one who appeals 

to the pope. No one may annul a decree of the pope, though 

the pope may declare null and void the decrees of all other 

earthly powers ; and no one may pass judgment upon his acts. 

Gregory vii Immediately upon his election as pope, Gregory began to 

ries S of the C ° P ut i nto practice his high conception of the role that the reli- 

mto a pracdce & ious head of Christendom should play. He dispatched legates 

throughout Europe, and from this time on these legates became 

a powerful instrument of the Church's government. He warned 

the kings of France and England and the youthful German 

ruler, Henry IV, to forsake their evil ways, to be upright and 



Popes and Emperors 1 5 3 

just, and to obey his admonitions. He explained, kindly but 
firmly, to William the Conqueror that the papal and kingly pow- 
ers are both established by God as the greatest among the 
authorities of the world, just as the sun and moon are the 
greatest of the heavenly bodies. But the papal power is obvi- 
ously superior to the kingly, for it is responsible for it ; at the 
Last Day Gregory would have, he urged, to render an account 
of the king as one of the flock intrusted to his care. The 
king of France was warned to give up his practice of simony, 
lest he be excommunicated and his subjects freed from their 
oath of allegiance. All these acts of Gregory appear to have 
been dictated not by worldly ambition but by a fervent con- 
viction of their righteousness and of his heavy responsibility 
toward all men. 

Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV 

31. Obviously Gregory's plan of reform included all the 
states of western Europe, but conditions were such that the 
most striking conflict took place between him and the emperor. 
The trouble came about in this way. Henry IV's father had 
died in 1056, leaving only his good wife Agnes and their little 
son of six years to maintain the hard-fought prerogatives of 
the German king in the midst of ambitious vassals whom even 
the strong Otto the Great had found it difficult to control. 

In 1065 the fifteen-year-old lad, Henry IV, was declared of Accession of 
age, and his lifelong difficulties began with a great rebellion of . I0 ?\ Trouble 
the Saxons. They accused the young king of having built castles Wlth the P°P e 
in their land and of filling them with rough soldiers who preyed 
upon the people. Pope Gregory felt it his duty to interfere. 
To him the Saxons appeared a people oppressed by a heedless 
youth guided by evil counselors. But Henry continued to asso- 
ciate with counselors whom the pope had excommunicated and 
went on filling important bishoprics in Germany and Italy, 
regardless of the pope's prohibitions. 



154 



Medieval and Modem Times 



New prohibi- 
tion of lay in- 
vestiture 



Henry IV 
angered by 
the language 
,of the papal 
legates 



Gregory VII 
deposed by 
a council of 
German 
bishops at 
Worms, 1076 



The popes who immediately preceded Gregory had more than 
once forbidden the churchmen to receive investiture from laymen. 
Gregory reissued this prohibition in 1075, just as the trouble 
with Henry had begun. Investiture was, as we have seen (see 
above, p. 147), the legal transfer by the king, or other lord, to 
a newly chosen Church official, of the lands and rights attached 
to the office. In forbidding lay investiture Gregory attempted 
nothing less than a revolution. The bishops and abbots were 
often officers of government, exercising in Germany and Italy 
powers similar in all respects to those of the counts. The king 
not only relied upon them for advice and assistance in carrying 
on his government, but they were among his chief allies in his 
constant struggles with his vassals. 

Gregory dispatched three envoys to Henry (end of 1075) 
with a fatherly letter 1 in which he reproached the king for his 
wicked conduct. But he evidently had little expectation that 
mere expostulation would have any effect upon Henry, for he 
gave his legates instructions to use threats, if necessary. The 
legates were to tell the king that his crimes were so numer- 
ous, so horrible, and so well known, that he merited not only 
excommunication but the permanent loss of all his royal honors. 

The violence of the legates' language not only kindled the 
wrath of the king but also gained for him friends among the 
bishops. A council which Henry summoned at Worms (in 
1076) was attended by more than two thirds of all the Ger- 
man bishops. Here Gregory was declared deposed, and many 
terrible charges of immorality brought against him. The bishops 
publicly proclaimed that he had ceased to be their pope. It ap- 
pears very surprising, at first sight, that the king should have 
received the prompt support of the German churchmen against 
the head of the Church. But it must be remembered that the 
prelates really owed their offices to the king and not to the pope. 

Gregory's reply to Henry and the German bishops who had 
deposed him was speedy and decisive. " Incline thine ear to 

1 To be found in the Readings, chap. xiii. 



Popes and Emperors 155 

us, O Peter, chief of the Apostles. As thy representative and Henry IV 
by thy favor has the power been granted especially to me excommuni- 
by (5od of binding and loosing in heaven and earth. On the catedb y th e 
strength of this, for the honor and glory of thy Church, in the 
name of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I with- 
draw, through thy power and authority, from Henry the King, 
son of Henry the Emperor, who has risen against thy Church 
with unheard-of insolence, the rule over the whole kingdom of 
the Germans and over Italy. I absolve all Christians from the 
bonds of the oath which they have sworn, or may swear, to 
him ; and I forbid anyone to serve him as king." * 

For a time after the pope had deposed him everything went Attitude of 
against Henry. Instead of resenting the pope's interference, princes 
the discontented Saxons, and many other of Henry's vassals, 
believed that there was now an excellent opportunity to get rid 
of Henry and choose a more agreeable ruler. The pope was 
even invited to come to Augsburg to consult with the princes 
as to whether Henry should continue to be king or another 
ruler should be chosen in his stead. It looked as if the pope 
was, in truth, to control the civil government. 

Henry decided to anticipate the arrival of the pope. He Henry sub- 
hastened across the Alps in midwinter and appeared as an p0 pe at Ca- 
humble suppliant before the castle of Canossa, 2 whither the nossa > I0 ?7 
pope had come on his way to Augsburg. For three days the 
German king presented himself before the closed door, barefoot 
and in the coarse garments of a pilgrim and a penitent, and even 
then Gregory was induced only by the expostulations of his influ- 
ential companions to admit the humiliated ruler. The spectacle 
of this mighty prince of distinguished appearance, humiliated 
and in tears before the little man who humbly styled himself the 

1 Gregory's deposition and excommunication of Henry may be found in the 
Readings, chap. xiii. 

2 The castle of Canossa belonged to Gregory VII's ally and admirer, the 
Countess of Tuscany. It was destroyed by the neighboring town of Reggio about 
two centuries after Gregory's time, and only the ivy-clad ruins, represented in the 
headpiece of this chapter, remain. 



i 5 6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



A new king 
chosen 



Henry again 
excommuni- 
cated 



Henry 

triumphs over 
Gregory 



Death of 
Gregory 



Henry IV's 

further 

troubles 



" servant of the servants of God," has always been regarded 
as most completely typifying the power of the Church and the 
potency of her curses, against which even the most exalte'd of 
the earth found no weapon of defense except abject penitence. 1 

The pardon which Henry received at Canossa did not satisfy 
the German princes. They therefore proceeded to elect another 
ruler, and the next three or four years was a period of bloody 
struggles between the adherents of the rival kings. Gregory 
remained neutral until 1080, when he again "bound with the 
chain of anathema " Henry, " the so-called king," and all his 
followers. He declared him deprived of his royal power and 
dignity and forbade all Christians to obey him. 

The new excommunication had precisely the opposite effect 
from the first one ; it seemed to increase rather than decrease 
Henry's friends. The German clergy again deposed Gregory 
VII. Henry's rival for the throne fell in battle, and Henry be- 
took himself to Italy with the double purpose of installing a pope 
of his own choice and winning the imperial crown. Gregory 
held out for no less than two years ; but at last Rome fell into 
Henry's hands, and Gregory withdrew and soon after died. His 
last words were, " I have loved justice and hated iniquity, there- 
fore I die an exile," and the fair-minded historical student will 
not question their truth. 

The death of Gregory did not, however, put an end to Henry's 
difficulties. He spent the remaining twenty years of his life in 
trying to maintain his rights as king of Germany and Italy 
against his rebellious subjects on both sides of the Alps. In 
Germany his chief enemies were the Saxons and his discon- 
tented vassals. In Italy the pope was now actively engaged 
as a temporal ruler, in building up a little state of his own, and 
he was always ready to encourage the Lombard cities in their 
opposition to the German emperors. 

All his life long Henry was turning from one enemy to 
another. Finally, his discontented German vassals induced his 

1 For Gregory's own account of the affair at Canossa, see Readings, chap, xiii 



Popes and Emperors 



157 



son, whom he had had crowned as his successor, to revolt 
against his father. Thereupon followed more civil war, more 
treason, and a miserable abdication. In 11 06 death put an end 
to perhaps the saddest reign that history records. 

The achievement of the reign of Henry IV's son, Henry V, 
which chiefly interests us was the adjustment of the question of 
investitures. Pope Paschal II, while willing to recognize those 
bishops already chosen by the king, provided they were good 



Death of 
Henry IV, 

1 106 



Henry V, 
1106-1125 




Fig. 43. Medieval Pictures of Gregory VII 

These pictures are taken from an illustrated manuscript written some 
decades after Gregory's death. In the one on the left Gregory is rep- 
resented blowing out a candle and saying to his cardinals, "As I blow out 
this light, so will Henry IV be extinguished." In the one on the right 
is shown the death of Gregory (1085). ^Ie did not wear his crown in bed, 
but the artist wanted us to be sure to recognize that he was pope 



men, proposed that thereafter Gregory's decrees against inves- 
titure by laymen should be carried out. The clergy should no 
longer do homage by laying their hands, consecrated to the 
service of the altar, in the bloodstained hands of the nobles. 
Henry V, on the other hand, declared that unless the clergy 
took the oath of fealty the bishops would not be given the lands, 
towns, castles, tolls, and privileges attached to the bishoprics. 

After a succession of troubles a compromise was at last 
reached in the Concordat of Worms (1122), which put an end 



i 5 8 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



Settlement 
of the ques- 
tion of lay 
investiture in 
the Con- 
cordat of 
Worms, 1 122 



to the controversy over investitures in Germany. 1 The emperor 
promised to permit the Church freely to elect the bishops and 
abbots and renounced his old claim to invest with the religious 
emblems of the ring and the crosier. But the elections were to 
be held in the presence of the king, and he was permitted, in a 
separate ceremony, to invest the new bishop or abbot with his 
fiefs and his governmental powers by a touch of the scepter. 
In this way the religious powers of the bishops were obviously 
conferred by the churchmen who elected him ; and although the 
king might still practically invalidate an election by refusing to 
hand over the lands, nevertheless the direct appointment of the 
bishops and abbots was taken out of his hands. As for the em- 
peror's control over the papacy, too many popes, since the advent 
of Henry IV, had been generally recognized as properly elected 
without the sanction of the emperor, for any one to believe any 
longer that his sanction was necessary. 



The Hohenstaufen Emperors and the Popes 



Frederick I 
(Barbarossa) 
of Hohen- 
staufen 
(1152-1190) 



32. A generation after the matter of investitures had been 
arranged by the Concordat of Worms the most famous of Ger- 
man emperors, next to Charlemagne, came to the throne. This 
was Frederick I, commonly called Barbarossa, from his red 
beard. He belonged to the family of Hohenstaufen, so called 
from their castle in southern Germany. Frederick's ambition 
was to restore the Roman Empire to its old glory and influence. 
He regarded himself as the successor of the Caesars, as well as 
of Charlemagne and Otto the Great. He believed his office to 
be quite as truly established by God himself as the papacy. 
When he informed the pope that he had been recognized as 
emperor by the German nobles, he too took occasion to state 
quite clearly that the headship of the Empire had been " be- 
stowed upon him by God " and he did not ask -the pope's 
sanction as his predecessors had done. 



1 See Readings, chap. xiii. 



Popes and Emperors 



159 



In his lifelong attempt to maintain what he thought to be his Frederick' 



rights as emperor he met, quite naturally, with the three old 
difficulties. He had constantly to be fighting his rivals and 
rebellious vassals in Germany ; he had to face the opposition of 
the popes, who never forgot the claims that Gregory VII had 
made to control the emperor as well as other rulers. Lastly, 



difficulties 




Fig. 44. Ruins of Barbarossa's Palace at Gelnhausen 

Frederick Barbarossa erected a handsome palace at Gelnhausen (not far 
east of Frankfort). It was destroyed by the Swedes during the Thirty 
Years War (see section 68 below), but even what now remains is impos- 
ing, especially the arcade represented in the picture 



in trying to keep hold of northern Italy, which he believed to 
belong to his empire, he spent a great deal of time with but 
slight results. 

One of the greatest differences between the early Middle Ages 
and Frederick's time was the development of town life. Up to 
this period we have heard only of popes, emperors, kings, bishops, 
and feudal lords. From now on we shall have to take the towns 
and their citizens into account. No nation makes much progress 



Importance 
of the towns 
in human 
progress 



i6o 



Medieval and Modem Times 



without towns ; for only when people get together in considerable 
numbers do they begin to build fine buildings, establish univer- 
sities and libraries, make inventions and carry on trade, which 
brings them into contact with other people in their own country 
and in foreign lands. (See below, Chapter XI, for town life.) 







Italian Towns in the Twelfth Century 



Lombard 
towns 



The towns had never decayed altogether in Italy, and by the 
time of Frederick Barbarossa they had begun to nourish once 
more, especially in Lombardy. Each of such towns as Milan, 
Verona, and Cremona were practically independent states. Their 
government was in the hands of the richer citizens, and the 
poorer people were not given any voice in city affairs. Compared 




:6i 



l62 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Hohen- 
staufens 
extend their 
claims to 
southern 
Italy 



Frederick II 
and Innocent 
III 



with a modern city they were very disorderly, for sometimes the 
poor revolted against the rich, and often the nobles, who had 
moved in from the country and built fortified palaces in the 
towns, fought among themselves. And then the various towns 
were always fighting one another. 

But in spite of all the warfare and disorder, the Italian cities 
became wealthy and, as we shall see later, were centers of 
learning and art similar to the ancient cities of Greece, such as 
Athens and Corinth. They were able to combine in a union 
known as the Lombard League to oppose Frederick, for they 
hated the idea of paying taxes to a German king from across 
the Alps. Frederick made several expeditions to Italy, but he 
only succeeded, after a vast amount of trouble, in getting them 
to recognize him as a sort of overlord. He was forced to leave 
them to manage their own affairs and go their own way. They 
could, of course, always rely upon the pope, when it came to 
fighting the emperor, for he was quite as anxious as the towns 
to keep Frederick out of Italy. 

So Frederick failed in his great plans for restoring the Roman 
Empire ; he only succeeded in adding a new difficulty for his 
descendants. In spite of his lack of success in conquering the 
Lombard cities, Frederick tried to secure southern Italy for his 
descendants. He arranged that his son should marry Constance, 
the heiress of Naples and Sicily. This made fresh trouble for 
the Hohenstaufen rulers, because the pope, as feudal lord of 
Naples and Sicily, was horrified at the idea of the emperor's 
controlling the territory to the south of the papal possessions 
as well as that to the north. 

After some forty years of fighting in Germany and Italy 
Frederick Barbarossa decided to undertake a crusade to the 
Holy Land and lost his life on the way thither. His son was 
carried off by Italian fever while trying to put down a rebellion 
in southern Italy, leaving the fate of the Hohenstaufen family 
in the hands of his infant son and heir, the famous Frederick II. 
It would take much too long to try to tell of all the attempts of 



Popes and Emperors 163 

rival German princes to get themselves made king of Germany 
and of the constant interference of the popes who sided now 
with this one and now with that. It happened that one of the 
greatest of all the popes, Innocent III, was ruling during Fred- 
erick II's early years. After trying to settle the terrible disorder 
in Germany he decided that Frederick should be made emperor, 
hoping to control him so that he would not become the dan- 
gerous enemy of the papacy that his father and grandfather had 
been. As a young man Frederick made all the promises that 
Innocent demanded, but he caused later popes infinite anxiety. 

Frederick II was nearsighted, bald, and wholly insignificant character of 
in person ; but he exhibited the most extraordinary energy and Frederick 11 
ability in the organization of his kingdom of Sicily, in which he I2I2 - I2 5° 
was far more interested than in Germany. He drew up an 
elaborate code of laws for his southern realms and may be said 
to have founded the first modern well-regulated state, in which 
the king was indisputably supreme. He had been brought up 
in Sicily and was much influenced by the Mohammedan culture 
which prevailed there. He appears to have rejected many of the 
opinions of the time. His enemies asserted that he was not 
even a Christian, and that he declared that Moses, Christ, and 
Mohammed were all alike impostors. 

We cannot stop to relate the romantic and absorbing story His bitter 
of his long struggle with the popes. They speedily discovered th^papacy 
that he was bent upon establishing a powerful state to the south 
of them, and upon extending his control over the Lombard 
cities in such a manner that the papal possessions would be 
held as in a vise. This, they felt, must never be permitted. 
Consequently almost every measure that Frederick adopted 
aroused their suspicion and opposition, and they made every 
effort to destroy him and his house. 

His chance of success in the conflict with the head of the Frederick 
Church was gravely affected by the promise which he had aslkmg^of 
made before Inntfcent Ill's death to undertake a crusade. J erusalem 
He was so busily engaged with his endless enterprises that he 



164 Medieval and Modern Times 

kept deferring the expedition, in spite of the papal admoni- 
tions, until at last the pope lost patience and excommunicated 
him. While excommunicated, he at last started for the East. 
He met with signal success and actually brought Jerusalem, the 
Holy City, once more into Christian hands, and was himself 
recognized as king of Jerusalem. 
Extinction of Frederick's conduct continued, however, to give offense to 
staufens' the popes. He was denounced in solemn councils, and at last 

power deposed by one of the popes. After Frederick died (1250) 

his sons maintained themselves for a few years in the Sicilian 
kingdom ; but they finally gave way before a French army, led 
by the brother of St. Louis, Charles of Anjou, upon whom the 
pope bestowed the southern realms of the Hohenstaufens. 1 
Fredericks With Frederick's death the medieval empire may be said 

death marks . 1T . . . . , . ,, _ 

the close of to have come to an end. It is true that after a period of " fist 
e^p£e dieVal law," as the Germans call it, a new king, Rudolf of Hapsburg, 
was elected in Germany in 1273. The German kings continued 
to call themselves emperors. Few of them, however, took the 
trouble to go to Rome to be crowned by the pope. No serious 
effort was ever made to reconquer the Italian territory for 
which Otto the Great, Frederick Barbarossa, and his son and 
grandson had made such serious sacrifices. Germany was hope- 
lessly divided and its king was no real king. He had no capital 
and no well-organized government. 
Division of By the middle of the thirteenth century it becomes apparent 

itatyhito an that neither Germany nor Italy was to be converted into a 
S endent de " strong single kingdom like England and France. The map of 
states Germany shows a confused group of duchies, counties, arch- 

bishropics, bishropics, abbacies, and free towns, each one of 
which asserted its practical independence of the weak king 
and emperor. 

In northern Italy each town, including a certain district about 
its walls, had become an independent state, dealing with its 

1 An excellent account of Frederick's life is given by Henderson, Germany in 
the Middle Ages, pp. 349-397. 



Popes and Emperors 165 

neighbors as with independent powers. The Italian towns were 
destined to become the birthplace of our modern culture during 
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Venice and Florence, in 
spite of their small size, came to be reckoned among the most 
important states of Europe (see section 45, below). In the cen- 
tral part of the peninsula the pope maintained more or less 
control over his possessions, but he often failed to subdue the 
towns within his realms. To the south Naples remained for some 
time under the French dynasty, which the pope had called in, 
while the island of Sicily drifted into Spanish hands. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 28. Describe the way in which the German kings gained 
the title of emperor. Why did they think that they ought to control 
the election of the pope? What do you understand by the Holy 
Roman Empire? 

Section 29. What were the sources of wealth of the Church? 
What was the effect of the vast landholdings of the Church ? What 
was investiture, and why did it raise difficulties between the popes 
and emperors? Why did the pope oppose the marriage of the 
clergy? How is the pope elected? What is a cardinal ? 

Section 30. What was the Dictatus, and what claims did it make ? 

Section 31. Describe the conflict between Henry IV and 
Gregory VII. What were the provisions of the Concordat of 
Worms ? 

Section 32. What new enemies did Frederick Barbarossa find 
in northern Italy ? How did the German kings establish a claim to 
southern Italy? Give some facts about Innocent III. Narrate the 
struggle between Frederick II and the popes and its outcome. How 
many years elapsed between the death of Otto the Great and the 
accession of Henry IV? between the death of Henry IV and that 
of Frederick Barbarossa ? between the death of Barbarossa and that 
of Frederick II? 



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CHAPTER IX 
THE CRUSADES 

Origin of the Crusades 

33. Of all the events of the Middle Ages, the most romantic 
and fascinating are the Crusades, the adventurous expeditions 
to Syria and Palestine, undertaken by devout and adventurous 
kings and knights with the hope of permanently reclaiming the 
Holy Land from the infidel Turks. All through the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries each generation beheld at least one great 
army of crusaders gathering from all parts of the West and 
starting toward the Orient. Each year witnessed the departure 
of small bands of pilgrims or of solitary soldiers of the cross. 

For two hundred years there was a continuous stream of 
Europeans of every rank and station — kings and princes, 
powerful nobles, simple knights, common soldiers, ecclesias- 
tics, monks, townspeople, and even peasants — from England, 
France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, making their way into 
western Asia. If they escaped the countless dangers which 
beset them on the journey, they either settled in this distant land 
and devoted themselves to war or commerce, or returned home, 
bringing with them tales of great cities and new peoples, of skill, 
knowledge, and luxury unknown in the West. 

166 



The Crusades 167 

Our sources of information in regard to the Crusades are Natural 
so abundant and so rich in picturesque incidents that writers Overrate 
have often yielded to the temptation to give more space to the im P or - 
these expeditions than their consequences really justify. They Crusades 
were, after all, only one of the great foreign enterprises which 
have been undertaken from time to time by the European 
peoples. While their influence upon the European countries was 
doubtless very important, — like that of the later conquest 
of India by the English and the colonization of America, — the 
details of the campaigns in the East scarcely belong to the 
history of western Europe. 

Syria had been overrun by the Arabs in the seventh century, The Holy 
shortly after the death of Mohammed, and the Holy City of ^IdTr'st 
Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of the infidels. The Arab, b y the Ar f bs 

J ' and then by 

however, shared the veneration of the Christian for the places the Turks 
associated with the life of Christ and, in general, permitted the 
Christian pilgrims who found their way thither to worship un- 
molested. But with the coming of a new and ruder people, the 
Seljuk Turks, in the eleventh century, the pilgrims began to 
bring home news of great hardships. Moreover, the eastern 
emperor was defeated by the Turks in 1071 and lost Asia 
Minor. The presence of the Turks, who had taken possession 
of the fortress of Nicaea, just across from Constantinople, was 
of course a standing menace to the Eastern Empire. When the 
energetic Emperor Alexius (1081-1118) ascended the throne 
he endeavored to expel the infidel. Finding himself unequal to Eastern 
the task, he appealed for assistance to the head of Christendom, ap^ahTto 
Pope Urban II. The first great impetus to the Crusades was th | po P e for 

r ° . aid against 

the call issued by Urban at the celebrated church council which the infidel 

in ■ -r. Turks 

met m 1095 at Clermont in France. 

In an address, which produced more remarkable immediate 
results than any other which history records, the pope exhorted 
knights and soldiers of all ranks to give up their usual wicked 
business of destroying their Christian brethren in private 
warfare (see section 2 2 , above) and turn, instead, to the succor 



1 68 Medieval and J\ lode in Times 

Urban ii of their fellow Christians in the East. He warned them that the 
call to the insolent Turks would, if unchecked, extend their sway still more 
June Council w ^ e ty over tne faithful servants of the Lord. Urban urged, be- 
of Clermont, sides, that France was too poor to support all its people, while 
the Holy Land flowed with milk and honey. " Enter upon the 
road to the Holy Sepulcher; wrest the land from the wicked 
race and subject it to yourselves." When the pope had finished, 
all who were present exclaimed, with one accord, " It is the will 
of God." This, the pope declared, should be the rallying cry of 
the crusaders, who were to wear a cross upon their bosoms as 
they went forth, and upon their backs as they returned, as a 
holy sign of their sacred mission. 1 
The motives The Crusades are ordinarily represented as the most striking 
crusaders examples of the simple faith and religious enthusiasm of the 
Middle Ages. They appealed, however, to many different kinds 
of men. The devout, the romantic, and the adventurous were 
by no means the only classes that were attracted. Syria held 
out inducements to the discontented noble who might hope to 
gain a principality in the East, to the merchant who was look- 
ing for new enterprises, to the merely restless who wished to 
avoid his responsibilities at home, and even to the criminal who 
enlisted with a view of escaping the results of his past offenses. 
It is noteworthy that Urban appeals especially to those who 
had been " contending against their brethren and relatives," and 
urges those "who have hitherto been robbers now to become 
soldiers of Christ." And the conduct of many of the crusaders 
indicates that the pope found a ready hearing among this class. 
Yet higher motives than a love of adventure and the hope of 
conquest impelled many who took their way eastward. Great 
numbers, doubtless, went to Jerusalem " through devotion alone, 
and not for the sake of honor or gain," with the sole object of 
freeing the Holy Sepulcher from the hands of the infidel. 

To such as these the pope promised that the journey itself 
should take the place of all penance for sin. The faithful 

1 For the speech of Urban, see Readings, chap. xv. 



The Crusades 169 

crusader, like the faithful Mohammedan, was assured of immedi- Privileges 
ate entrance into heaven if he died repentant. Later, the Church crusaders 
exhibited its extraordinary authority by what would seem to us 
an unjust interference with business contracts. It freed those 
who " with a pure heart " entered upon the journey from the 
payment of interest upon their debts, and permitted them to 
mortgage property against the wishes of their feudal lords. 
The crusaders' wives and children and property were taken 
under the immediate protection of the Church, and he who 
troubled them incurred excommunication. These various con- 
siderations help to explain the great popularity of undertakings 
that, at first sight, would seem to have promised only hardships 
and disappointment. 

The Council of Clermont met in November. Before spring Peter the 
(1096) those who set forth to preach the Crusade, — above all, his army" 1 
the famous Peter the Hermit, who was formerly given credit 
for having begun the whole crusading movement, — had col- 
lected, in France and along the Rhine, an extraordinary army 
of the common folk. Peasants, workmen, vagabonds, and even 
women and children answered the summons, all blindly intent 
upon rescuing the Holy Sepulcher, two thousand miles away. 
They were confident that the Lord would sustain them during 
the weary leagues of the journey, and that, when they reached 
the Holy Land, he would grant them a prompt victory over 
the infidel. 

This great host was got under way in several divisions under 
the leadership of Peter the Hermit, and of Walter the Penni- 
less and other humble knights. Many of the crusaders were 
slaughtered by the Hungarians, who rose to protect them- 
selves from the depredations of this motley horde in its passage 
through their country. Part of them got as far as Nicsea, only 
to be slaughtered by the Turks. This is but an example, on 
a large scale, of what was going on continually for a century 
or so after this first great catastrophe. Individual pilgrims and 
adventurers, and sometimes considerable bodies of crusaders, 



170 



Medieval atid Modem Times 



were constantly falling a prey to every form of disaster — 
starvation, slavery, disease, and death — in their persistent 
endeavors to reach the far away Holy Land. 



The First 

Crusade, 

1096 



Hostilities 
between the 
Greeks and 
the crusaders 



The First Crusade 

34. The most conspicuous figures of the long period of the 
Crusades are not, however, to be found among the lowly fol- 
lowers of Peter the Hermit, but are the knights, in their long 
coats of flexible armor. A year after the summons issued at 
Clermont great armies of fighting men had been collected in 
the West under distinguished leaders — the pope speaks of 
three hundred thousand soldiers. Of the various divisions which 
were to meet in Constantinople, the following were the most 
important : the volunteers from Provence under the papal 
legate and Count Raymond of Toulouse ; inhabitants of Ger- 
many, particularly of Lorraine, under Godfrey of Bouillon and 
his brother Baldwin, both destined to be rulers of Jerusalem ; 
and lastly, an army of French and of the Normans of southern 
Italy under Bohemond and Tancred. 1 

The distinguished noblemen who have been mentioned were 
not actually in command of real armies. Each crusader under- 
took the expedition on his own account and was only obedient 
to any one's orders so long as he pleased. The knights and 
men naturally grouped themselves around the more noted lead- 
ers, but considered themselves free to change chiefs when they 
pleased. The leaders themselves reserved the right to look out 
for their own special interests rather than sacrifice themselves 
to the good of the expedition. 

Upon the arrival of the crusaders at Constantinople it quickly 
became clear that they had not much more in common with the 
" Greeks " 2 than with the Turks. Emperor Alexius ordered 

1 For the routes taken by the different crusading armies, see the accompanying 
map. 

2 The people of the Eastern Empire were called Greeks because the 
Greek language continued to be used in Constantinople. 



The Crusades 



171 



his soldiers to attack Godfrey's army, encamped in the suburbs 
of his capital, because their chief at first refused to take the 
oath of feudal homage to him. The emperor's daughter Anna, 
in her history of the times, gives a sad picture of the outrageous 
conduct of the crusaders. They, on 
the other' hand, denounced the 
Greeks as traitors, cowards, and liars. 

The eastern emperor had hoped 
to use his western allies to reconquer 
Asia Minor and force back the 
Turks. The leading knights, on the 
contrary, dreamed of carving out 
principalities for themselves in the 
former dominions of the emperor, 
and proposed to control them by 
right of conquest. Later we find 
both Greeks and western Christians 
shamelessly allying themselves with 
the Mohammedans against each 
other. The relations of the eastern 
and western enemies of the Turks 
were well illustrated when the cru- 
saders besieged their first town, 
Nicsea. When it was just ready to 
surrender, the Greeks arranged with 
the enemy to have their troops ad- 
mitted first. They then closed the 
gates against their western confeder- 
ates and invited them to move on. 

The first real allies that the crusaders met with were the 
Christian Armenians, who gave them aid after their terrible 
march through Asia Minor. With their help Baldwin got 
possession of Edessa, of which he made himself prince. The 
chiefs induced the great body of the crusaders to postpone 
the march on Jerusalem, and a year was spent in taking the 




Fig. 46. Knight of the 
First Crusade 

In the time of the Crusades 
knights wore a coat of inter- 
woven iron rings, called a 
hauberk, to protect them- 
selves. The habit of using the 
rigid iron plates, of which 
later armor was constructed, 
did not come in until the 
Crusades were over 



Dissension 
among the 
leaders of the 
crusaders 



172 



Medieval and Modern Times 



rich and important city of Antioch. A bitter strife then broke 
out, especially between the Norman Bohemond and the count 
of Toulouse, as to who should have the conquered town. After 
the most unworthy conduct on both sides, Bohemond won, 

and Raymond 
was forced to set 
to work to con- 
quer another prin- 
cipality for himself 
on the coast about 
Tripoli. 

In the spring 
of 1099 about 
twenty thousand 
warriors were at 
last able to move 
upon Jerusalem. 
They found the 
city well walled, 
in the midst of 
a desolate region 
where neither 
food nor water 
nor the materials 
to construct the 
apparatus neces- 
sary for the cap- 
ture of the town 
were to be found. 
However, the opportune arrival at Jaffa of galleys from Genoa 
furnished the besiegers with supplies, and, in spite of all the 
difficulties, the place was taken in a couple of months. The 
crusaders, with shocking barbarity, massacred the inhabitants. 
Godfrey of Bouillon was chosen ruler of Jerusalem and took 
the modest title of " Defender of the Holy Sepulcher." He soon 




Map of the Crusaders' States in Syria 



The Crusades 173 

died and was succeeded by his brother Baldwin, who left Edessa 
in 1 1 00 to take up the task of extending the bounds of the 
kingdom of Jerusalem. 

It will be observed that the " Franks," as the Mohammedans Founding 
called all the western folk, had established the centers of four domain Syria 
principalities. These were Edessa, Antioch, the region about 
Tripoli conquered by Raymond, and the kingdom of Jerusalem. 
The last was speedily increased by Baldwin ; with the help of 
the mariners from Venice and Genoa, he succeeded in getting 
possession of Acre, Sidon, and a number of other less impor- 
tant coast towns. 

The news of these Christian victories quickly reached the 
West, and in 1 1 o 1 tens of thousands of new crusaders started 
eastward. Most of them were lost or dispersed in passing 
through Asia Minor, and few reached their destination. The 
original conquerors were consequently left to hold the land 
against the Saracens and to organize their conquests as best 
they could. This was a very difficult task — too difficult to 
accomplish under the circumstances. 

The permanent hold of the Franks upon the eastern bor- 
ders of the Mediterranean depended upon the strength of the 
colonies which their various princes were able to establish. It 
is impossible to learn how many pilgrims from the West made 
their permanent homes in the new Latin principalities. Cer- 
tainly the greater part of those who visited Palestine returned 
home after fulfilling the vow they had made — to kneel at the 
Holy Sepulcher. 

Still the princes could rely upon a certain number of soldiers 
who would be willing to stay and fight the Mohammedans. 
The Turks, moreover, were so busy fighting one another that 
they showed less energy than might have been expected in 
attempting to drive the Franks from the narrow strip of terri- 
tory — some five hundred miles long and fifty wide — which 
they had conquered. The map on the opposite page shows 
the extent of situation of the crusaders' states. 



174 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Religious Orders of the Hospitalers 
and Templars 



Military reli- 
gious orders 



35. A noteworthy outcome of the crusading movement was 
the foundation of several curious orders, of which the Hospi- 
talers and the Templars were the most important. These orders 

combined the two dominant inter- 
ests of the time, those of the monk 
and of the soldier. They permitted 
a man to be both at once ; the 
knight might wear a monkish 
cowl over his coat of armor. 

The Hospitalers grew out of 
a monastic association that was 
formed before the First Crusade 
for the succor of the poor and sick 
among the pilgrims. Later the 
society admitted noble knights to 
its membership and became a mili- 
tary order, at the same time con- 
tinuing its care for the sick. This 
charitable association, like the 
earlier monasteries, received gen- 
erous gifts of land in western 
Europe and built and controlled 
many fortified monasteries in the 
Holy Land itself. After the evacu- 
ation of Syria in the thirteenth 
century, the Hospitalers moved 
their headquarters to the island of 
Rhodes, and later to Malta. The 
order still exists, and it is considered a distinction to this day to 
have the privilege of wearing its emblem, the cross of Malta. 

Before the Hospitalers were transformed into a military 
order, a little group of French knights banded together in 1 1 1 9 




Fig. 



47. Costume of the 
Hospitalers 



The Hospitaler here repre- 
sented bears the peculiar 
Maltese cross on his bosom. 
His crucifix indicates his reli- 
gious character, but his sword 
and the armor which he wears 
beneath his long gown enabled 
him to fight as well as pray 
and succor the wounded 



The Crusades 175 

to defend pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem from the attacks The 
of the infidel. They were assigned quarters in the king's palace Tem P lars 
at Jerusalem, on the site of the former Temple of Solomon; 
hence the name " Templars," which they were destined to render 
famous. The " poor soldiers of the Temple " were enthusiasti- 
cally approved by the Church. They wore a white cloak adorned 
with a red cross, and were under a very strict monastic rule 
which bound them by the vows of obedience, poverty, and 
celibacy. The fame of the order spread throughout Europe, 
and the most exalted, even dukes and princes, were ready to 
renounce the world and serve Christ under its black and white 
banner, with the legend Non nobis, Domine. 

The order was aristocratic from the first, and it soon became 
incredibly rich and independent. It had its collectors in all parts 
of Europe, who dispatched the " alms " they received to the 
Grand Master at Jerusalem. Towns, churches, and estates were 
given to the order, as well as vast sums of money. The king 
of Aragon proposed to bestow upon it a third of his kingdom. 
The pope showered privileges upon the Templars. They were 
exempted from tithes and taxes and were brought under his 
immediate jurisdiction ; they were released from feudal obliga- 
tions, and bishops were forbidden to excommunicate them for 
any cause. 

No wonder they grew insolent and aroused the jealousy and Abolition of 
hate of princes and prelates alike. Even Innocent III violently Templars 
upbraided them for admitting to their order wicked men who 
then enjoyed all the privileges of churchmen. Early in the four- 
teenth century, through the combined efforts of the pope and 
Philip the Fair of France, the order was brought to a terrible 
end. Its members were accused of the most abominable prac- 
tices, — such as heresy, the worship of idols, and the systematic 
insulting of Christ and his religion. Many distinguished Tem- 
plars were burned for heresy ; others perished miserably in dun- 
geons. The once powerful order was abolished and its property 
confiscated. 



76 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Second 
Crusade 



The Second and Later Crusades 

36. Fifty years after the preaching of the First Crusade, the 
fall of Edessa (1144), an important outpost of the Christians in 
the East, led to a second great expedition. This was fonvarded 
by no less a person than St. Bernard, who went about using 
his unrivaled eloquence to induce volunteers to take the cross. 



-h^r __. 




Fig. 48. Krak des Chevaliers, restored 

This is an example of the strong castles that the crusaders built in 
Syria. It was completed in the form here represented about the year 
1200 and lies halfway between Antioch and Damascus. It will be 
noticed that there was a fortress within a fortress. The castle is now 
in ruins (see headpiece of this chapter) 



In a fierce hymn of battle he cried to the Knights Templars : 
"The Christian who slays the unbeliever in the Holy War is 
sure of his reward, the more sure if he himself be slain. The 
Christian glories in the death of the infidel, because Christ is 
glorified." The king of France readily consented to take the 
cross, but the emperor, Conrad III, appears to have yielded 
only after St. Bernard had preached before him and given a 
vivid picture of the terrors of the Judgment Day. 



The Crusades 



177 



In regard to the less distinguished recruits, a historian of the 
time tells us that so many thieves and robbers hastened to 
take the cross that every one felt that such enthusiasm could 
only be the work of God himself. St. Bernard himself, the chief 
promoter of the expedition, gives a most unflattering description 
of the " soldiers of Christ." " In that countless multitude you 
will find few except the utterly wicked and impious, the sacri- 
legious, homicides, and perjurers, whose departure is a double 
gain. Europe rejoices to lose them and Palestine to gain them ; 
they are useful in both ways, in their absence from here and their 
presence there." 
It is unnecessary 
to describe the 
movements and 
fate of these cru- 
saders ; suffice it 
to say that, from 
a military stand- 
point, the so-called 
Second Crusade 
was a miserable 
failure. 

In the year 
1 187, forty years 
later, Jerusalem 
was recaptured by 

Saladin, the most heroic and distinguished of all the Moham- 
medan rulers of that period. The loss of the Holy City led to 
the most famous of all the military expeditions to the Holy 
Land, in which Frederick Barbarossa, Richard the Lion-Hearted 
of England, and his political rival, Philip Augustus of France, 
all took part (see above, p. 123). The accounts of the enterprise 
show that while the several Christian leaders hated one another 
heartily enough, the Christians and Mohammedans were coming 
to respect one another. We find examples of the most courtly 











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Fig. 49. Tomb of a Crusader 

The churches of England, France, and Germany 

contain numerous figures in stone and brass of 

crusading knights, reposing in full armor with 

shield and sword on their tombs 



178 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Fourth 
and subse- 
quent 
Crusades 



relations between the representatives of the opposing religions. 
In 1 192 Richard concluded a truce with Saladin, by the terms 
of which the Christian pilgrims were allowed to visit the holy 
places in safety and comfort. 

In the thirteenth century the crusaders began to direct their 
expeditions toward Egypt as the center of the Mohammedan 
power. The first of these was diverted in an extraordinary 
manner by the Venetians, who induced the crusaders to con- 
quer Constantinople for their benefit. The further expeditions 
of Frederick II (see above, p. 163) and St. Louis need not be 
described. Jerusalem was irrevocably lost in 1 2 44, and although 
the possibility of recovering the city was long considered, the 
Crusades may be said to have come to a close before the end 
of the thirteenth century. 



Chief Results of the Crusades 



Settlements 
of the Italian 
merchants 



Oriental 
luxury intro- 
duced into 
Europe 



37 . For one class at least, the Holy Land had great and per- 
manent charms, namely, the Italian merchants, especially those 
from Genoa, Venice, and Pisa. It was through their early 'inter- 
est and by means of supplies from their ships, that the conquest 
of the Holy Land had been rendered possible. The merchants 
always made sure that they were well paid for their services. 
When they aided in the successful siege of a town they arranged 
that a "definite quarter should be assigned to them in the cap- 
tured place, where they might have their market, docks, church, 
and all that was necessary for a permanent center for their com- 
merce. This district belonged to the town from which the mer- 
chants came. Venice even sent governors to live in the quarters 
assigned to its citizens in the kingdom of Jerusalem. Marseilles 
also had independent quarters in Jerusalem, and Genoa had its 
share in the county of Tripoli. 

This new commerce had a most important influence in bring- 
ing the West into permanent relations with the Orient. Eastern 
products from India and elsewhere — silks, spices, camphor, 



The Crusades 179 

musk, pearls, and ivory — were brought by the Mohammedans 
from the East to the commercial towns of Palestine and Syria ; 
then, through the Italian merchants, they found their way into 
France and Germany, suggesting ideas of luxury hitherto 
scarcely dreamed of by the still half-barbarous Franks. 

Moreover, the Crusades had a great effect upon the methods Effects of 
of warfare, for the soldiers from the West learned from the warf^re^ 
Greeks about the old Roman methods of constructing machines 
for attacking castles and walled towns. This led, as has been 
pointed out in a previous chapter, to the construction in west- 
ern Europe of stone castles, first with square towers and later 
with round ones, the remains of which are so common in Ger- 
many, France, and England. The Crusades also produced 
heraldry, or the science of coats of arms. These were the 
badges that single knights or groups of knights adopted in 
order to distinguish themselves from other people. Some of 
the terms used in heraldry, such as gules for red, and azur for 
blue, are of Arabic origin. 

Some of the results of the Crusades upon western Europe Results of 
must already be obvious, even from this very brief account. 
Thousands and thousands of Frenchmen, Germans, and Eng- 
lishmen had traveled to the Orient by land and by sea. Most 
of them came from hamlets or castles where they could never 
have learned much of the great world beyond the confines of 
their native village or province. They suddenly found them- 
selves in great cities and in the midst of unfamiliar peoples and 
customs. This could not fail to make them think and give them 
new ideas to carry home. The Crusade took the place of a 
liberal education. The crusaders came into contact with those 
who knew more than they did, above all the Arabs, and brought 
back with them new notions of comfort and luxury. 

"Yet in attempting to estimate the debt of the West to the 
Crusades it should be remembered that many of the new things 
may well have come from Constantinople, or through the 
Mohammedans of Sicily and Spain, quite independently of the 



1 80 Medieval and Modern Times 

armed incursions into Syria. Moreover, during the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries towns were rapidly growing up in Europe, 
trade and manufactures were extending, and the universities 
were being founded. It would be absurd to suppose that with- 
out the Crusades this progress would not have taken place. 
So we may conclude that the distant expeditions and the con- 
tact with strange and more highly civilized peoples did no more 
than hasten the improvement which was already perceptible 
before Urban made his ever-memorable address at Clermont. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 33. What led to the Crusades? Describe Urban's speech. 
What was the character of Peter the Hermit's expedition ? 

Section 34. Who were the leaders of the First Crusade ? 
Describe the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders. 

Section 35. Who were the Hospitalers? What was the order 
of the Temple and what became of the Templars ? 

Section 36. What was the Second Crusade? Give some par- 
ticulars in regard to the Third Crusade and its leaders. 

Section 37. Give as complete an account as you can of the chief 
results of the Crusades. 




CHAPTER X 



THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH AT ITS HEIGHT 



Organization and Powers of the Church 



38. In the preceding pages it has been necessary to refer 
constantly to the Church and the clergy. Indeed, without them 
medieval history would become almost a blank, for the Church 
was incomparably the most important institution of the time, 
and its officers were the soul of nearly every great enterprise. 
We have already learned something of the rise of the Church 
and of its head, the pope, as well as the mode of life and the 
work of the monks as they spread over Europe.. We have 
also watched the long struggle between the emperors and 
the' popes in which the emperors were finally worsted. We 
must now consider the Medieval Church as a completed insti- 
tution at the height of its power in the twelfth and thirteenth 
centuries. 



82 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Ways in 
which the 
Medieval 
Church dif- 
fered from 
modern 
churches 



Membership 
in the 
Medieval 
Church 
compulsory 



The wealth 
of the 
Church 



The tithe 



Resemblance 
of the Church 
to a State 



We have already had abundant proofs that the Medieval 
Church was very different from our modern churches, whether 
Catholic or Protestant. 

i. In the first place, every one was required to belong to it, 
just as we all must belong to some country to-day. One was 
not born into the Church, it is true, but he was ordinarily bap- 
tized into it when he was a mere infant. All western Europe 
formed a single religious association, from which it was a crime 
to revolt. To refuse allegiance to the Church, or to question 
its authority or teachings, was regarded as treason against God 
and was punishable with death. 

2. The Medieval Church did not rely for its support, as 
churches usually must to-day, upon the voluntary contributions 
of its members. It enjoyed, in addition to the revenue from its 
vast tracts of lands and a great variety of fees, the income from 
a regular tax, the tithe. Those upon whom this fell were forced 
to pay it, just as we all must now pay taxes imposed by the 
government. 

3. It is clear, moreover, that the Medieval Church was not 
merely a religious body, as churches are to-day. Of course it 
maintained places of worship, conducted devotional exercises, 
and cultivated the religious life ; but it did far more. It was, in 
a way, a State, for it had an elaborate 'system of law, and its 
own courts, in which it tried many cases which are now settled 
in our ordinary courts. 1 One may get some idea of the business 
of the Church courts from the fact that the Church claimed the 
right to try all cases in which a clergyman was involved, or any 
one connected with the Church or under its special protection, 
such as monks, students, crusaders, widows, orphans, and the 
helpless. Then all cases where the rites of the Church, or its 
prohibitions, were involved came ordinarily before the Church 
courts, as, for example, those concerning marriage, wills, sworn 

1 The law of the Church was known as the canon law. It was taught in most 
of the universities and practiced by a great number of lawyers. It was based upon 
the "canons," or rules, enacted by the various Church councils, from that of 
Nicaea down, and, above all, upon the decrees and decisions of the popes. 



The Medieval Church at its Height 183 

contracts, usury, blasphemy, sorcery, heresy, and so forth. The 
Church even had its prisons, to which it might sentence offenders 
for life. 

4. The Church not only performed the functions of a State ; unity of 
it had the organization of a State. Unlike the Protestant min- ^ g t ^ e hation 
isters of to-day, all churchmen and religious associations of Church 
medieval Europe were under one supreme head, the pope, who 
made laws for all and controlled every Church officer, wherever 
he might be, whether in Italy or Germany, Spain or Ireland. 
The whole Church had one official language, Latin, in which 
all communications were written and in which its services were 
everywhere conducted. 

The Medieval Church may therefore properly be called a The Medi- 
monarchy in its government. The pope was its all-powerful ^monarchy 
and absolute head. He was the supreme lawgiver. He might m lts form of 

10 ° government 

set aside or repeal any law of the Church, no matter how 
ancient, so long as he did not believe it to be ordained by the 
Scriptures or by Nature. He might, for good reasons, make Dispensa- 
exceptions to all merely human laws ; as, for instance, permit 
cousins to marry, or free a monk from his vows. Such exceptions 
were known as dispensations. 

The pope was not merely the supreme lawgiver ; he was the The pope 
supreme judge. Any one, whether clergyman or layman, in any j u dg S ^of eme 
part of Europe could appeal to him at any stage in the trial of chnstendom 
a large class of cases. Obviously this system had serious draw- 
backs. Grave injustice might be done by carrying to Rome a 
case which ought to have been settled in Edinburgh or Cologne, 
where the facts were best known. The rich, moreover, always 
had the advantage, as they alone could afford to bring suits 
before so distant a court. 

The control of the pope over all parts of the Christian Church 
was exercised by his legates. These papal ambassadors were 
intrusted with great powers. Their haughty mien sometimes 
offended the prelates and rulers to whom they brought home 
the authority of the pope, — as, for instance, when the legate 



184 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The Roman 
curia 



Sources of 
the pope's 
income 



The arch- 
bishops 



The impor- 
tance of the 
bishops 



Pandulf grandly absolved all the subjects of King John of 
England, before his very face, from their oath of fealty to him 
(see p. 125, above). 

The task assumed by the pope of governing the whole 
western world naturally made it necessary to create a large body 
of officials at Rome in order to transact all the multiform business 
and prepare and transmit the innumerable legal documents. 1 
The cardinals and the pope's officials constituted what was 
called the papal curia, or court. 

To carry on his government and meet the expenses of pal- 
ace and retinue, the pope had need of a vast income. This he 
secured from various sources. Heavy fees'were exacted from 
those who brought suits to his court for decision. The arch- 
bishops, bishops, and abbots were expected to make generous 
contributions when the pope confirmed their election. In the 
thirteenth century the pope himself began to fill many benefices 
throughout Europe, and customarily received half the first year's 
revenues from those whom he appointed. For several centuries 
before the Protestants finally threw off their allegiance to the 
popes, there was widespread complaint on the part of both 
clergy and laymen that the fees and taxes levied by the curia 
were excessive. 

Next in order below the head of the Church were the arch- 
bishops and bishops. An archbishop was a bishop whose power 
extended beyond the boundaries of his own diocese and who 
exercised a certain control over all the bishops within his 
province. 

There is perhaps no class of persons in medieval times whose 
position it is so necessary to understand as that of the bishops. 
They were regarded as the successors of the apostles, whose 
powers were held to be divinely transmitted to them. They 
represented the Church Universal in their respective dioceses, 
under the supreme headship of their " elder brother," the 

1 Many of the edicts, decisions, and orders of the popes were called bulls, 
from the seal (Latin, bulla) attached to them. 



The Medieval Church at its Height 



185 



bishop of Rome, the successor of the chief of the apostles. 
Their insignia of office, the miter and crosier, are familiar to 
every one. 1 Each bishop had his especial church, which was 
called a cathedral, and usually surpassed the other churches of 
the diocese in -size and beauty. 




Fig. 50. Canterbury Cathedral 

The bishop's church was called a cathedral, because in it stood the 
bishop's chair, or throne (Latin, cathedra). It was therefore much more 
imposing ordinarily than the parish churches, although sometimes the 
abbey churches belonging to rich monasteries vied with the bishop's 
church in beauty (see below, section 44) 



In addition to the oversight of his diocese, it was the bishop's The bishop's 
business to look after the lands and other possessions which duties ra 
belonged to the bishopric. Lastly, the bishop was usually a 
feudal lord, with the obligations which that implied. He might 
have vassals and subvassals, and often was himself a vassal, not 
only of the king but also of some neighboring lord. 



1 The headpiece of this chapter represents an English bishop ordaining a 
priest and is taken from a manuscript of Henry II's time. The bishop is 
wearing his miter and holds his pastoral staff, the crosier, in his left hand while 
he raises, his right, in blessing, over the priest's head. 



1 86 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The parish 
priest and 
his duties 



The exalted 
position of 
the clergy 



Nature of 
penance 



Only clergy- 
men ordi- 
narily knew 
how to read 
and write 



The lowest division of the Church was the parish. At the 
head of the parish was the parish priest, who conducted services 
in the parish church and absolved, baptized, married, and buried 
his parishioners. The priests were supposed to be supported by 
the lands belonging to the parish church and by the tithes. But 
both of these sources of income were often in the hands of lay- 
men or of a neighboring monastery, while the poor priest re- 
ceived the merest pittance, scarcely sufficient to keep soul and 
body together. 

The clergy were set apart from the laity in several ways. 
The higher orders — bishop, priest, deacon, and subdeacon — 
were required to remain unmarried, and in this way were 
freed from the cares and interests of family life. The Church 
held, moreover, that the higher clergy, when they had been 
properly ordained, received through their ordination a mysterious 
imprint, the " indelible character," so that they could never 
become simple laymen again, even if they ceased to perform 
their duties altogether. • Above all, the clergy alone could ad- 
minister the sacraments upon which the salvation of every 
individual soul depended. 

The punishment for sin imposed by the priest was called 
pe?iance. This took a great variety of forms. It might consist 
in fasting, repeating prayers, visiting holy places, or abstaining 
from one's ordinary amusements. A journey to the Holy Land 
was regarded as taking the place of all other penance. Instead, 
however, of requiring the penitent actually to perform the fasts, 
pilgrimages, or other sacrifices imposed as penance by the priest, 
the Church early began to permit him to change his penance 
into a contribution, to be applied to some pious enterprise, like 
building a church or bridge, or caring for the poor and sick. 

The influence of the clergy was greatly increased by the fact* 
that they alone were educated. For six or seven centuries after 
the overthrow of the Roman government in the west, very few 
outside of the clergy ever dreamed of studying, or even of learn- 
ing to read and write. Even in the thirteenth century an offender 



TJie Medieval Church at its Height 187 

who wished to prove that he belonged to the clergy, in order 
that he might be tried by a Church court, had only to show that 
he could read a single line ; for it was assumed by the judges 
that no one unconnected with the Church could read at all. 

It was therefore inevitable that all the teachers were clergy- 
men, that almost all the books were written by priests and 
monks, and that the clergy was the ruling power in all intellectual, 
artistic, and literary matters — the chief guardians and promoters 
of civilization. Moreover, the civil government was forced to 
rely upon churchmen to write out the public documents and 
proclamations. The priests and monks held the pen for the 
king. Representatives of the clergy sat in the king's councils 
and acted as his ministers ; in fact, the conduct of the govern- 
ment largely devolved upon them. 

The offices in the Church were open to all ranks of men, and Offices in the 
many of the popes themselves sprang from the humblest classes. to ^classes 
The Church thus constantly recruited its ranks with fresh blood. 
No one held an office simply because his father had held it 
before him, as was the case in the civil government. 

No wonder that the churchmen were by far the most power- Excommu- 
ful class in the Middle Ages. They controlled great wealth ; they interdict ^ 
alone were educated ; they held the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven and without their aid no one could hope to enter in. 
By excommunication they could cast out the enemies of the 
Church and could forbid all men to associate with them, since 
they were accursed. By means of the interdict they could sus- 
pend all religious ceremonies in a whole city or country by 
closing the church doors and prohibiting all public services. 



The Heretics and the Inquisition 

39. Nevertheless, in spite of the power and wonderful organi- Rebels 
zation of the Church, a few people began to revolt against it as church 
early as the time of Gregory VII ; and the number of these 
rebels continued to increase as time went on. Popular leaders 



sians 



1 88 Medieval and Modem Times 

arose who declared that no one ought any longer to rely upon 
the Church for his salvation ; that all its elaborate ceremonies 
were worse than useless ; that its Masses, holy water, and relics 
were mere money-getting devices of a sinful priesthood and 
helped no one to heaven. 

Heresy Those who questioned the teachings of the Church and pro- 

posed to cast off its authority were, according to the accepted 
view of the time, guilty of the supreme crime of heresy. 
Heretics were of two sorts. One class merely rejected the 
practices and some of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic 
Church while they remained Christians and endeavored to 
imitate as nearly as possible the simple life of Christ and the 
apostles. 

The Walden- Among those who continued to accept the Christian faith but 
refused to obey the clergy, the most important sect was that of 
the Waldensians, which took its rise about 1175. These were 
followers of Peter Waldo of Lyons, who gave up all their 
property and lived a life of apostolic poverty; They went about 
preaching the Gospel and explaining the Scriptures, which they 
translated from Latin into the language of the people. They 
made many converts, and before the end of the twelfth cen- 
tury there were great numbers of them scattered throughout 
western Europe. 

The Albi- On the other hand, there were popular leaders who taught 

that the Christian religion itself 'was false. They held that there 
were two principles in the universe, the good and the evil, 
which were forever fighting for the victory. They asserted 
that the Jehovah of the Old Testament was really the evil 
power, and that it was, therefore, the evil power whom the Cath- 
olic Church worshiped. These heretics were commonly called 
Albigensians, a name derived from the' town of Albi in southern 
France, where they were very numerous. 

It is very difficult for us who live in a tolerant age to under- 
stand the universal and deep-rooted horror of heresy which long 
prevailed in Europe. But we must recollect that to the orthodox 



gensians 



The Medieval Church at its Height 189 

believer in the Church nothing could exceed the guilt of one 
who committed treason against God by rejecting the religion 
which had been handed down in the Roman Church from the 
immediate followers of his Son. Moreover, doubt and unbelief 
were not merely sin ; they were revolt against the most power- 
ful social institution of the time, which, in spite of the sins of 
some of its officials, continued to be venerated by people at 
large throughout western Europe. The story of the Albigensians 
and Waldensians, and the efforts of the Church to suppress 
them by persuasion, by fire and sword, and by the stern court 
of the Inquisition, form a strange and terrible chapter in 
medieval history. 

In southern France there were many adherents of both the 
Albigensians and the Waldensians, especially in the county of 
Toulouse. At the beginning of the thirteenth century there 
was in this region an open contempt for the Church, and bold 
heretical teachings were heard even among the higher classes. 

Against the people of this flourishing land Innocent III Albigensian 
preached a crusade in 1208. An army marched from northern 
France into the doomed region and, after one of the most 
atrocious and bloody wars upon record, suppressed the heresy 
by wholesale slaughter. At the same time, the war checked the 
civilization and destroyed the prosperity of the most enlightened 
portion of France. 

The most permanent defense of the Church against heresy was The inqu 
the establishment, under the headship of the pope, of a system 
of courts designed to ferret out secret cases of unbelief and bring 
the offenders to punishment. These courts which devoted their 
whole attention to the discovery and conviction of heretics were 
called the Holy Inquisition, which gradually took form after 
the Albigensian crusade. The unfairness of the trials and the 
cruel treatment to which those suspected of heresy were sub- 
jected, through long imprisonment or torture, — inflicted with 
the hope of forcing them to confess their crime or to implicate 
others, — have rendered the name of the Inquisition infamous. 



1- 

sition 



90 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Fate of the 

convicted 

heretic 



Without by any means attempting to defend the methods 
employed, it may be remarked that the inquisitors were often 
earnest and upright men, and the methods of procedure of the 
Inquisition were not more cruel than those used in the secular 
courts of the period. 

The assertion of the suspected person that he was not a 
heretic did not receive any attention, for it was assumed that 
he would naturally deny his guilt, as would any other criminal. 
A person's belief had, therefore, to be judged by outward acts. 
Consequently one might fall into the hands of the Inquisition 
by mere accidental conversation with a heretic, by some unin- 
tentional neglect to show due respect toward the Church rites, 
or by the malicious testimony of one's neighbors. This is really 
the most terrible aspect of the Inquisition and its procedure. 

If the suspected person confessed his guilt and abjured his 
heresy, he was forgiven and received back into the Church ; 
but a penance of life imprisonment was imposed upon him as 
a fitting means of wiping away the unspeakable sin of which he 
had been guilty. If he persisted in his heresy, he was " relaxed 
to the secular arm " ; that is to say, the Church, whose law for- 
bade it to shed blood, handed over the convicted person to the 
civil power, which burned him alive without further trial. 



The Franciscans and Dominicans 



Founding of 
the mendi- 
cant orders 



40. We may now turn to that far more cheerful and effective 
method of meeting the opponents of the Church, which may 
be said to have been discovered by St. Francis of Assisi. His 
teachings and the example of his beautiful life probably did far 
more to secure continued allegiance to the Church than all the 
harsh devices of the Inquisition. 

We have seen how the Waldensians tried to better the world 
by living simple lives and preaching the Gospel. Owing to the 
disfavor of the Church authorities, who declared their teach- 
ings erroneous and dangerous, they were prevented from 



The Medieval Church at its Height 191 

publicly carrying on their missionary work. Yet all conscientious 
men agreed with the Waldensians that the world was in a sad 
plight, owing to the negligence and the misdeeds of the clergy. 
St. Francis and St. Dominic strove to meet the needs of their 
time by inventing a new kind of clergyman, the begging brother, 
or ''mendicant friar" (from the Latin f rater, "brother"). He was 
to do just what the bishops and parish priests often failed to do 
— namely, lead a holy life of self-sacrifice, defend the Church's 
beliefs against the attacks of the heretics, and awaken the people 
to a new religious life. The founding of the mendicant orders 
is one of the most interesting events of the Middle Ages. 

There is no more lovely and fascinating figure in all history St. Francis 
than St. Francis. He was born (probably in 1182) at Assisi, a ii8 2 - S i226 
little town in central Italy. He was the son of a well-to-do 
merchant, and during his early youth he lived a very gay life, 
spending his father's money freely. He read the French 
romances of the time and dreamed of imitating the brave 
knights whose adventures they described. Although his com- 
panions were wild and reckless, there was a delicacy and chivalry 
in Francis's own make-up which made him hate all things coarse 
and heartless. When later he voluntarily became a beggar, his 
ragged cloak still covered a true poet and knight. 

The contrast between his own life of luxury and the sad state Francis for- 
of the poor early afflicted him. When he was about twenty, f i uxur y 
after a long and serious illness which made a break in his gav ^ h -l s 

b & J inheritance 

life and gave him time to think, he suddenly lost his love for the and becomes 
old pleasures and began to consort with the destitute, above all 
with lepers. His father does not appear to have had any fond- 
ness whatever for beggars, and the relations between him and 
his son grew more and more strained. When finally he threatened 
to disinherit the young man, Francis cheerfully agreed to sur- 
render all right to his inheritance. Stripping off his clothes and 
giving them back to his father, he accepted the worn-out garment 
of a gardener and became a homeless hermit, busying himself 
in repairing the dilapidated chapels near Assisi. 



192 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Francis 
begins to 
preach and 
to attract 
followers 



Seeks and 
obtains the 
approval of 
the pope 



Missionary 
work under- 
taken 



Francis did 
not desire 
to found a 
powerful 
order 



He soon began to preach in a simple way, and before long a 
rich fellow townsman resolved to follow Francis's example — sell 
his all and give to the poor. Others soon joined them, and these 
joyous converts, free of worldly burdens, went barefoot and 
penniless about central Italy preaching the Gospel instead of 
shutting themselves up in a monastery. 

When, with a dozen followers, Francis appealed to the pope 
in 12 10 for his approval, Innocent III hesitated. He did not 
believe that any one could lead a life of absolute poverty. Then 
might not these ragged, ill-kempt vagabonds appear to condemn 
the Church by adopting a life so different from that of the rich 
and comfortable clergy ? Yet if he disapproved the friars, he 
would seem to disapprove at the same time Christ's directions 
to his apostles. He finally decided to authorize the brethren to 
continue their missions. 

Seven years later, when Francis's followers had greatly in- 
creased in numbers, missionary work was begun on a large 
scale, and brethren were dispatched to Germany, Hungary, 
France, Spain, and even to Syria. It was not long before an 
English chronicler was telling with wonder of the arrival in his 
country of these barefoot men, in their patched gowns and with 
ropes about their waists, who, with Christian faith, took no 
thought for the morrow, believing that their Heavenly Father 
knew what things they had need of. 

As time went on, the success of their missionary work led 
the pope to bestow many privileges upon them. It grieved 
Francis, however, to think of his little band of companions 
being converted into a great and powerful order. He foresaw 
that they would soon cease to lead their simple, holy life, and 
would become ambitious and perhaps rich. " I, little Brother 
Francis," he writes, " desire to follow the life and the poverty 
of Jesus Christ, persevering therein until the end ; and I beg 
you all and exhort you to persevere always in this most holy 
life of poverty, and take good care never to depart from it 
upon the advice and teachings of anyone whomsoever." 



The Medieval Church at its Height 



193 



After the death of St. Francis (1226) many of the order, Change in 

which now numbered several thousand members, wished to o/the Fran^ 

maintain the simple rule of absolute poverty ; others, including; c "; scan ord er 

f . after Francis's 

the new head of the order, believed that much good might be death 
done with the wealth which people were anxious to give them. 




|v pi 



Fig. 51. Church of St. Francis at Assisi 

Assisi is situated on a high hill, and the monastery of the Franciscans 
is built out on a promontory. The monastery has two churches, one 
above the other. The lower church, in which are the remains of 
St. Francis, was begun in 1228 and contains pictures of the life and mira- 
cles of the saint. To reach the upper church (completed 1253) one can 
go up by the stairs, seen to the right of the entrance to the lower church, 
to the higher level upon which the upper church faces 



They argued that the individual friars might still remain abso- 
lutely possessionless, even if the order had beautiful churches 
and comfortable monasteries. So a stately church was imme- 
diately constructed at Assisi (Fig. 51) to receive the remains of 
their humble founder, who in his lifetime had chosen a deserted 



194 



Medieval and Modern Times 



St. Dominic 



Founding of 
the Domini- 
can order ' 



hovel for his home ; and a great chest was set up in the church 
to receive the offerings of those who desired to give. 

St. Dominic (b. 1 170), the Spanish founder of the other great 
mendicant order, was not a simple layman like Francis. He 
was a churchman and took a regular course of instruction in 
theology for ten years in a Spanish university. He then (1208) 
accompanied his bishop to southern France on the eve of the 
Albigensian crusade and was deeply shocked to see the preva- 
lence of heresy. His host at Toulouse happened to be an Albi- 
gensian, and Dominic spent the night in converting him. He then 
and there determined to' devote his life to fighting heresy. 

By 12 14 a few sympathetic spirits from various parts of 
Europe had joined Dominic, and they asked Innocent III to 
sanction their new order. The pope again hesitated, but is 
said to have dreamed a dream in which he saw the great Roman 
Church of the Lateran tottering and ready to fall had not 
Dominic supported it on his shoulders. He interpreted this as 
meaning that the new organization might sometime become a 
great aid to the papacy, and gave it his approval. As soon as 
possible Dominic sent forth his followers, of whom there were 
but sixteen, to evangelize the world, just as the Franciscans 
were undertaking their first missionary journeys. By 122 1 
the Dominican order was thoroughly organized and had sixty 
monasteries scattered over western Europe. 

" Wandering on foot over the face of Europe, under burning 
suns or chilling blasts, rejecting alms in money but receiving 
thankfully whatever coarse food might be set before the way- 
farer, enduring hunger in silent resignation, taking no thought for 
the morrow, but busied eternally in the work of snatching souls 
from Satan and lifting men up from the sordid cares of daily 
life" — in this way did the early Franciscans and Dominicans 
win the love and veneration of the people. 

The Dominicans were called the " Preaching Friars " and 
were carefully trained in theology in order the better to refute 
the arguments of the heretics. The pope delegated to them 



The Medieval Church at its Height - 195 

especially the task of conducting the Inquisition. They early Contrast 
began to extend their influence over the universities, and the rSnicans 
two most distinguished theologians and teachers of the thirteenth * nd th . e 

Franciscans 

century, Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas, were Domini- 
cans. Among the Franciscans, on the other hand, there was 
always a considerable party who were suspicious of learning 
and who showed a greater desire to remain absolutely poor than 
did the Dominicans. Yet as a whole the Franciscans, like the 
Dominicans, accepted the wealth that came to them, and they 
too contributed distinguished scholars to the universities. 



Church and State 

41. We have seen that the Medieval Church was a single The state 

great institution with its head, the pope, at Rome and its aided the *" 

officers in all the countries of western Europe. It had its laws, ^ith 1 ' 

law courts, taxes, and even prisons, iust like the various kings churchmen 

1 , IT 11- 1 1 hel P ed the 

and other rulers. In general, the kings were ready to punish government 
every one who revolted against the Church. Indeed, the State de- 
pended upon the churchmen in many ways. It was the church- 
men who wrote out the documents which the king required; 
they took care of the schools, aided the poor, and protected the 
weak. They tried, by issuing the Truce of God, to discourage 
neighborhood warfare, which the kings were unable to stop. 

But as the period of disorder drew to an end and the Chief sources 
kings and other rulers got the better of the feudal lords and between 1 
established peace in their realms, they began to think that ^l° h and 
the Church had become too powerful and too rich. Certain 
difficulties arose of which the following were the most important : 

1. Should the king or the pope have the advantage of select- Filling 
ing the bishops and the abbots of rich monasteries. Naturally 
both were anxious to place their friends and supporters in these 
influential positions. Moreover, the pope could claim a con- 
siderable contribution from those whom he appointed, and the 
king naturally grudged him the money. 



196 



Medieval and Modern Times 



2. How far might the king venture to tax the lands and other 
property of the Church ? Was this vast amount of wealth to go 
on increasing and yet make no contribution to the support of 
the government ? The churchmen usually maintained that they 
needed all their money to carry on the Church services, keep 
up the churches and monasteries, take care of the schools and 
aid the poor, for the State left them to bear all these necessary 
burdens. The law of the Church permitted the churchmen to 
make voluntary gifts to the king when there was urgent necessity. 

3. Then there was trouble over the cases to be tried in the 
Church courts and the claim of churchmen to be tried only by 
clergymen. Worst of all was the habit of appealing cases to 
Rome, for the pope would often decide the matter in exactly 
the opposite way from which the king's court had decided it. 

4. Lastly there was the question of how far the pope as head 
of the Christian Church had a right to interfere with the govern- 
ment of a particular state, when he did not approve of the way 
in which a king was acting. The powers of the pope were very 
great, every one admitted, but even the most devout Catholics 
differed somewhat as to just how great they were. 

We have seen some illustrations of these troubles in the 
chapter on the Popes and Emperors. A famous conflict between 
the king of France, Philip the Fair, and Pope Boniface VIII, 
about the year 1300, had important results. Philip and Edward I 
of England, who were reigning at the same time, had got into the 
habit of taxing the churchmen as they did their other subjects. 

It was natural after a monarch had squeezed all that he could 
out of the Jews and the towns, and had exacted every possible 
feudal due, that he should turn to the rich estates of the clergy, 
in spite of their claim that their property was dedicated to God 
and owed the king nothing. The extensive enterprises of 
Edward I (see pp. 128 sqq., above) led him in 1296 to demand 
one fifth of the personal property of the clergy. Philip the Fair 
exacted one hundredth and then one fiftieth of the possessions 
of clergy and laity alike. 



The Medieval Church at its Height 197 

Against this impartial system Boniface protested in the famous The bull, 
bull, Clericis laicos (1296). He claimed that the laity had always f TonifaceT 
been exceedingly hostile to the clergy, and that the rulers were vm > I2 9 6 
now exhibiting this hostility by imposing heavy burdens upon 
the Church, forgetting that they had no control over the clergy 
and their possessions. The pope, therefore, forbade all church- 
men, including the monks, to pay, without his consent, to a king 
or ruler any part of the Church's revenue or possessions upon 
any pretext whatsoever. He likewise forbade the kings and 
princes under pain of excommunication to presume to exact 
any such payments. 

It happened that just as the pope was prohibiting the clergy Boniface 
from contributing to the taxes, Philip the Fair had forbidden n^e/right 
the exportation of all gold and silver from the country. In that t( ? Xax . 

, - J churchmen 

way he cut off an important source of the pope's revenue, for 
the church of France could obviously no longer send anything 
to Rome. The pope was forced to give up his extreme claims. 
He explained the following year that he had not meant to inter- 
fere with the payment on the clergy's part of customary feudal 
dues nor with their loans of money to the king. 1 

In spite of this setback, the pope never seemed more com- The jubilee 
pletely the recognized head of the western world than during 
the first great jubilee, in the year 1300, when Boniface called 
together all Christendom to celebrate the opening of the new 
century by a great religious festival at Rome. It is reported 
that two millions of people, coming from all parts of Europe, 
visited the churches of Rome, and that in spite of widening the 
streets, many were crushed in the crowd. So great was the 
influx of money into the papal treasury that two assistants were 
kept busy with rakes collecting the offerings which were deposited 
at the tomb of St. Peter. 

Boniface was, however, very soon to realize that even if 
Christendom regarded Rome as its religious center, the na- 
tions would not accept him as their political head. When he 

1 See Readings, chap. xxi. 



of 1300 



198 



Medieval and Modern Times 



dispatched an obnoxious prelate to Philip the Fair, ordering him 
to free a certain nobleman whom he was holding prisoner, the 
king declared the harsh language of the papal envoy to be high 
treason and sent one of his lawyers to the pope to demand 
that the messenger be punished. 

Philip was surrounded by a body of lawyers, and it would 
seem that they, rather than the king, were the real rulers of 
France. They had, through their study of Roman law, learned 
to admire the absolute power exercised by the Roman emperor. 
To them the civil government was supreme, and they urged 
the king to punish what they regarded as the insolent conduct 
of the pope. Before taking any action against the head of the 
Church, Philip called together the Estates-General, including not 
only the clergy and the nobility but the people of the towns as 
well. The Estates-General, after hearing a statement of the case 
from one of Philip's lawyers, agreed to support their monarch. 

Nogaret, one of the chief legal advisers of the king, undertook 
to face the pope. He collected a little troop of soldiers in Italy 
and marched against Boniface, who was sojourning at Anagni, 
where his predecessors had excommunicated two emperors, 
Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II. As Boniface, in his 
turn, was preparing solemnly to proclaim the king of France 
an outcast from the Church, Nogaret penetrated into the papal 
palace with his soldiers and heaped insults upon the helpless 
but defiant old man. The townspeople forced Nogaret to leave 
the next day, but Boniface's spirit was broken and he soon died 
at Rome. 

King Philip now proposed to have no more trouble with 
popes. He arranged in 1305 to have the Archbishop of Bor- 
deaux chosen head of the Church, with the understanding 
that he should transfer the papacy to France. The new pope 
accordingly summoned the cardinals to meet him at Lyons, 
where he was crowned under the title of " Clement V." He 
remained in France during his whole pontificate, moving from 
one rich abbey to another. 



The Medieval Church at its Height 199 

At Philip's command he reluctantly undertook .a sort of trial 
of the deceased Boniface VIII, who was accused by the king's 
lawyers of all sorts of abominable crimes. Then, to please the 
king, Clement brought the Templars to trial; 1 the order was 
abolished, and its possessions in France, for which the king 
had longed, were confiscated. Obviously it proved very advanta- 
geous to the king to have a pope within his realm. Clement V 
died in 13 14. 

His successors took up their residence in the town of The popes 
Avignon, just outside the French frontier of those days. There resfdence zt 
they built a sumptuous palace in which successive popes lived A^s 11011 
in great splendor for sixty years. 

The prolonged exile of the popes from Rome, lasting from The Babylo- 
1305 to 1377, is commonly called the Babylonian Captivity 2 of ™ n oi ^ w ' 
the Church, on account of the woes attributed to it. The popes church 
of this period were for the most part good and earnest men ; 
but they were all Frenchmen, and the proximity of their court to 
France led to the natural suspicion that they were controlled 
by the French kings. This, together with their luxurious court, 
brought them into discredit with the other nations. 3 

At Avignon the popes were naturally deprived of some of the The papal 
revenue which they had enjoyed from their Italian possessions 
when they lived at Rome. This deficiency had to be made up 
by increased taxation, especially as the expenses of the splendid 
papal court were very heavy. The papacy was, consequently, 
rendered unpopular by the methods employed to raise money. 

The papal exactions met with the greatest opposition in statute of 
England because the popes were thought to favor France, with P^ lsors > 
which country the English were at war. A law was passed by 
Parliament in 1352, ordering that all who procured a Church 
office from the pope should be outlawed, since they were ene- 
mies of the king and his realm. This and similar laws failed, 

1 See above, p. 175. 

2 The name recalled, of course, the long exile of the Jews from their land. 

3 See Readings, chap. xxi. 



200 



Medieval and Modern Times 



however, to prevent the pope from filling English benefices. 
The English king was unable to keep the money of his realm 



m 



mtft n»cp* at vtHa&'mskt}« 

tme o$pdwm& xsM vtaammm 
# tywm-Jtt® aUttttaww^wttria 
\mmttieu4i® to tyimvi fill? ft 

Sutte flflo? of pxmJwmz 
age ij*r#aH»'2CkO Motiwa 
» vfiittwMcmmgf e#r Jj ft) pe 

ytmumthe* tfowetpcvsoim? 

l»rt*e dn» nt,i ntsmt &ntB7)ntf\ Ql 



t» fidfiniO.'ftye Ittugftm OfgtJi 
ptrijai ohm* nfc. /ftttpm&e** <#, 

?f &a£ fAliieer ftrtf dWotit at® 
amaste ft® ittoptr^ijttttmtgtuefc 
tjte-iu w pc c» s«p?tt i»« wtat i 

[^fd>«#^«ta) tr&s tttfrto &«&; 

ramte *«a£e*rtttfff cd^aitti^te 

#ut> anootvft tottts fyttefccu; 

toot m^taa9^ti«<ti««^«« a«a>n 
crirmficfcettuCno itffctfttfKtfe; 

1 ujtttttttepc tutocafticttajmi/^aft 
ftttOfm m pe fabotjte be prHtt 

pet usdn^ftmottfiis ttcMttft. 

0of>dt lict»«sterf^tt^ttjctaai 

tj(U*t»ii0tp(rt&a??*tt0t«0 * 

litafi m pttymgo&c of qutim 

fmmt m mimmme Co#i*tr -tbe J 



~i! 



Fig. 52. Page from Wycliffe's Translation of the Bible 

This is the upper half of the first page of the Gospel according to Mark 
and contains verses 1-7 and 15-23. The scribe of the time made i, y, 
and /// in something the same way. The page begins : " The bigyn- 
ninge of the gospel of ihusu crist, the sone of god. As it is writen in 
isaie, the prophete, Loo, I send myn aungel bifore thi face, that schal 
make thi weie redi bifore thee. The voice of one crying in deseert, 
make thee redi the weie of the lord, make thee his pathis ryghtful 
Joon was in deseert baptizinge and prechinge the baptism of penaunce 
in to remissioun of sinnes." While the spelling is somewhat different 
from ours it is clear that the language used by Wycliffe closely resembled 
that used in the familiar authorized version of the New Testament, made 
two centuries and a half later 



from flowing to Avignon; and at the meeting of the English 
Parliament held in 1376 a report was made to the effect that 
the taxes levied by the pope in England were five times those 
raised by the king. 



The Medieval Church at its Height 201 



<*> 



The most famous and conspicuous critic of the pope at this John 
time was John Wycliffe, a teacher at Oxford. He was born w y cllffe 
about 1320, but we know little of him before 1366, when 
Urban V demanded that England should pay the tribute prom- 
ised by King John .when he became the pope's vassal. 1 Parlia- 
ment declared that John had no right to bind the people 
without their consent, and Wycliffe began his career of oppo- 
sition to the papacy by trying to prove that John's agreement 
was void. About ten years later we find the pope issuing bulls 
against the teachings of Wycliffe, who had begun to assert that 
the state might appropriate the property of the Church, if it 
was misused, and that the pope had no authority except as he 
acted according to the Gospels. Soon Wycliffe went further 
and boldly attacked the papacy itself, as well as many of the 
Church institutions. 

Wycliffe's anxiety to teach the people led him to have the Wycliffe the 
Bible translated into English. He also prepared a great num- English 
ber of sermons and tracts in English. He is the father of P rose 
English prose, 2 for we have little in English before his time, 
except poetry. 

Wycliffe and his " simple priests " were charged with encour- influence of 
aging the discontent and disorder which culminated in the teaching S 
Peasants' War. 3 Whether this charge was true or not, it caused 
many of his followers to fall away from him. But in spite of 
this and the denunciations of the Church, Wycliffe was not 
seriously interfered with and died peaceably in 1384. Wycliffe 
is remarkable as being the first distinguished scholar and re- 
former to repudiate the headship of the pope and those prac- 
tices of the Church of Rome which a hundred and fifty years 
after his death were attacked by Luther in his successful re- 
volt against the Medieval Church. This will be discussed in a 
later chapter. 

1 See above, p. 124. 2 For extracts, see Readings y c\wp. xxi. 

3 See above, pp. 136-137. 



202 Medieval and Modem Times 

QUESTIONS 

Section 38. In what ways did the Medieval Church differ from 
the modern churches with which we are familiar? In what ways did 
the Medieval Church resemble a State ? What were the powers of the 
pope ? What were the duties of a bishop in the Middle Ages ? Why 
was the clergy the most powerful class in the Middle Ages? 

Section 39. What were the views of the W T aldensians ? of the 
Albigensians? What was the Inquisition? 

Section 40. Narrate briefly the life of St. Francis. Did the 
Franciscan order continue to follow the wishes of its founder? 
Contrast the Dominicans with the Franciscans. 

Section 41. What were the chief subjects of disagreement 
between the Church and the State? Describe the conflict between 
Boniface VIII and Philip the Fair. How did the Babylonian 
Captivity come about? What were some of the results of the 
sojourn of the popes at Avignon ? W T hat were the views of John 
Wycliffe? 




s> 



CHAPTER XI 



MEDIEVAL TOWNS -THEIR BUSINESS AND BUILDINGS 



The Towns and Guilds 



42. In discussing the Middle Ages we have hitherto dealt 
mainly with kings and emperors, and with the popes and the 
Church of which they were the chief rulers; we have also described 
the monks and monasteries, the warlike feudal lords and their 
castles, and the hard-working serfs who farmed the manors ; but 
nothing has been said about the people who lived in the towns. 

Towns have, however, always been the chief centers of Towns the 
progress and enlightenment, for the simple reason that people oVprogresT 5 
must live close together in large numbers before they can 
develop business on a large scale, carry on trade with foreign 
countries, establish good schools and universities, erect noble 
public buildings, support libraries and museums and art galleries. 
One does not find these in the country, for the people outside 
the towns are too scattered and usually too poor to have the 
things that are common enough in large cities. 

One of the chief peculiarities of the early Middle Ages, from 
the break-up of the Roman Empire to the time of William the 
Conqueror, was the absence of large and flourishing towns in 
western Europe, and this fact alone would serve to explain why 
there was so little progress. 

203 



204 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Unimpor- 
tance of 
town life in 
the early 
Middle Ages 



Reappear- 
ance of 
towns in the 
eleventh 
century 



Origin of the 

medieval 

towns 



Compactness 
of a medi- 
eval town 



The Roman towns were decreasing in population before the 
German inroads. The confusion which followed the invasions 
hastened their decline, and a great number of them disappeared 
altogether. Those which survived and such new towns as sprang 
up were, to judge from the chronicles, of very little importance 
during the early Middle Ages. We may assume, therefore, that 
during the long period from Theodoric to Frederick Barbarossa 
by far the greater part of the population of England, Germany, 
and northern and central France were living in the country, 
on the great estates belonging to the feudal lords, abbots, 
and bishops. 1 

It is hardly necessary to point out that the gradual reappear- 
ance of town life in western Europe is of the greatest interest to 
the student of history. The cities had been the centers of Greek 
and Roman civilization, and in our own time they dominate the 
life, culture, and business enterprise of the world. Were they 
to disappear, our whole life, even in the country, would neces- 
sarily undergo a profound change and tend to become primitive 
again, like that of the age of Charlemagne. 

A great part of the medieval towns, of which we begin to 
have some scanty records about the year iooo, appear to have 
originated on the manors of feudal lords or about a monastery 
or castle. The French name for town, ville, is derived from 
" vill," the name of the manor, and we use this old Roman word 
when we call a town ]a.cksonvi//e or HavYisvi/Ie. The need of 
protection was probably the usual reason for establishing a town 
with walls about it, so that the townspeople and the neighbor- 
ing country people might find safety within it when attacked by 
neighboring feudal lords (Fig. 53). 

The way in which a medieval town was built seems to justify 
this conclusion. It was generally crowded and compact com- 
pared with its more luxurious Roman predecessors. Aside from 
the market place there were few or no open spaces. There 

1 In Italy and southern France town life was doubtless more general than in 
northern Europe. 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 205 

were no amphitheaters or public baths as in the Roman cities. 
The streets were often mere alleys over which the jutting stories 
of the high houses almost met. The high, thick wall that sur- 
rounded it prevented its extending easily and rapidly as our 
cities do nowadays (see headpiece and Figs. 54, 77). 



-- , -¥TS£- 













Fig. 53. A Castle with a Village below it 

A village was pretty sure to grow up near the castle of a powerful lord 
and might gradually become a large town 



All towns outside of Italy were small in the eleventh and Townsmen 
twelfth centuries, and, like the manors on which they had serfs 113 Y 
grown up, they had little commerce as yet with the outside 
world. They produced almost all that their inhabitants needed 
except the farm products which came from the neighboring 
country. There was likely to be little expansion as long as the 



206 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Increase of 
trade pro- 
motes the 
growth of 
the towns 



Town 
charters 



town remained under the absolute control of the lord or monas- 
tery upon whose land it was situated. The townspeople were 
scarcely more than serfs, in spite of the fact that they lived 
within a wall and were traders and artisans instead of farmers. 
They had to pay irritating dues to their lord, just as if they still 
formed a farming community. 

With the increase of trade (see following section) came the 
longing for greater freedom. For when new and attractive com- 
modities began to be brought from the East and the South, the 
people of the towns were encouraged to make things which 
they could exchange at some neighboring fair for the products 
of distant lands. But no sooner did the townsmen begin to en- 
gage in manufacturing and to enter into relations with the out- 
side world than they became conscious that they were subject to 
exactions and restrictions which rendered progress impossible. 

Consequently, during the twelfth century there were many 
insurrections of the towns against their lords and a general 
demand that the lords should grant the townsmen charters 
in which the rights of both parties should be definitely stated. 
These charters were written contracts between the lord and the 
town government, which served at once as the certificate of birth 
of the town and as its constitution. The old dues and services 
which the townspeople owed as serfs (see above, section 20) 
were either abolished or changed into money payments. 

As a visible sign of their freedom, many of the towns had a 
belfry, a high building with a watchtower, where a guard was 
kept day and night in order that the bell might be rung in case 
of approaching danger. 1 It contained an assembly hall, where 
those who governed the town held their meetings, and a prison. 
In the fourteenth century the wonderful town halls began to be 
erected, which, with the exception of the cathedrals and other 
churches, are usually the most remarkable buildings which the 
traveler sees to-day in the old commercial cities of Europe. 



1 At the beginning of this chapter there is a picture of the town of Siegen 
in Germany, as it formerly looked, with its walls and towers. 




Fig. 54. Street in Quimper, France 

None of the streets in even the oldest European towns look just as 
they did in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but here and there, 
as in -this town of Brittany, one can still get some idea of the narrow, 
cramped streets and overhanging houses and the beautiful cathedral 
crowded in among them 



207 



208 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Craft guilds 



The guild 
system 



The tradesmen in the medieval towns were at once manu- 
facturers and merchants ; that is, they made, as well as offered 
for sale, the articles which they kept in their shops. Those who 
belonged to a particular trade — the bakers, the butchers, the 
sword makers, the armorers, etc. — formed unions or guilds to 
protect their special interests. The oldest statutes of a guild 
in Paris are those of the candle makers, which go back to 1061. 
The number of trades differed greatly in different towns, but 
the guilds all had the same object — to prevent any one 
from practicing a trade who had not been duly admitted to 
the union. 

A young man had to spend several years in learning his trade. 
During this time he lived in the house of a " master workman " as 
an "apprentice," but received no remuneration. He then became 
a "journeyman " and could earn wages, although he was still 
allowed to work only for master workmen and not directly for 
the public. A simple trade might be learned in three years, but 
to become a goldsmith one must be an apprentice for ten years. 
The number of apprentices that a master workman might em- 
ploy was strictly limited, in order that the journeymen might 
not become too numerous. 

The way in which each trade was to be practiced was care- 
fully regulated, as- well as the time that should be spent in work 
each day. The system of guilds discouraged enterprise but main- 
tained uniform standards everywhere. Had it not been for 
these unions, the defenseless, isolated workmen, serfs as they 
had formerly been, would have found it impossible to secure 
freedom and municipal independence from the feudal lords 
who had formerly been their masters. 



Business in the Later Middle Ages 



43 . The chief reason for the growth of the towns and their in- 
creasing prosperity was a great development of trade throughout 
western Europe. Commerce had pretty much disappeared with 




Xongitude 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 209 

the decline of the Roman roads and the general disorganization Practical dis- 
produced by the barbarian invasions. In the early Middle Ages of Commerce 
there was no one to mend the ancient Roman roads. The great l^.^f, earl y 

° Middle Ages 

network of highways from Persia to Britain fell apart when inde- 
pendent nobles or poor local communities took the place of a 
world empire. All trade languished, for there was little demand 
for those articles of luxury which the Roman communities in the 
North had been accustomed to obtain from the South, and there 
was but little money to buy what we should consider the com- 
forts of life ; even the nobility lived uncomfortably enough in 
their dreary and rudely furnished castles. 

In Italy, however, trade does not seem to have altogether Italian cities 
ceased. Venice, Genoa, Amain, and other towns appear to have ^ orient 
developed a considerable Mediterranean commerce even before 
the Crusades (see map above, p. 160). Their merchants, as we 
have seen, supplied the destitute crusaders with the material 
necessary for the conquest of Jerusalem (see above, p. 172). 
The passion for pilgrimages offered inducements to the Italian 
merchants for expeditions to the Orient, whither they transported 
the pilgrims and returned with the products of the East. The 
Italian cities established trading stations in the East and carried 
on a direct traffic with the caravans which brought to the shores 
of the Mediterranean the products of Arabia, Persia, India, and 
the Spice Islands. The southern French towns and Barcelona 
entered also into commercial relations with the Mohammedans 
in northern Africa. 

This progress in the South could not but stir the lethargy of Commerce 
the rest of Europe. When commerce began to revive, it encour- industry 63 
aged a revolution in industry. So long as the manor system 
prevailed and each man was occupied in producing only what 
he and the other people on the estate needed, there was nothing 
to send abroad and nothing to exchange for luxuries. But when 
merchants began to come with tempting articles, the members of 
a community were encouraged to produce a surplus of goods 
above what they themselves needed, and to sell or exchange this 



2IO 



Medieval a?id Modern Times 



The luxuries 
of the East 
introduced 
into Europe 



Some of the 
important 
commercial 
centers 



Obstacles to 
business 



Lack of 
money 



surplus for commodities coming from a distance. Merchants and 
artisans gradually directed their energies toward the production 
of what others wished as well as what was needed by the little 
group to which they belonged. 

The romances of the twelfth century indicate that the West 
was astonished and delighted by the luxuries of the East — the 
rich fabrics, oriental carpets, precious stones, perfumes, drugs, 
silks, and porcelains from China, spices from India, and cotton 
from Egypt. Venice introduced the silk industry from the East 
and the manufacture of those glass articles which the traveler 
may still buy in the Venetian shops. The West learned how 
to make silk and velvet as well as light and gauzy cotton and 
linen fabrics. The Eastern dyes were introduced, and Paris was 
soon imitating the tapestries of the Saracens. In exchange for 
those luxuries which they were unable to produce, the Flemish 
towns sent their woolen cloths to the East, and Italy its wines. 

The Northern merchants dealt mainly with Venice and brought 
their wares across the Brenner Pass and down the Rhine, or 
sent them by sea to be exchanged in Flanders (see map). By 
the thirteenth century important centers of trade had come 
into being, some of which are still among the great commercial 
towns of the world. Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen carried on 
active trade with the countries on the Baltic and with England. 
Augsburg and Nuremberg, in the south of Germany, became im- 
portant on account of their situation on the line of trade between 
Italy and the North. Bruges and Ghent sent their manufactures 
everywhere. English commerce was relatively unimportant as 
yet compared with that of the great ports of the Mediterranean. 

It was very difficult indeed to carry on business on a large 
scale in the Middle Ages, for various reasons. In the first place, 
as has been said, there was little money, and money is essential 
to buying and selling, unless people confine themselves merely 
to exchanging one article for another. There were few gold and 
silver mines in western Europe and consequently the kings and 
feudal lords could not supply enough coin. Moreover, the coins 



Medieval Tozvns — their Business and Buildings 211 



were crude, with such rough, irregular edges (Fig. 55) that "Clipping" 
many people yielded to the temptation to pare off a little of the 
precious metal before they passed the money on. " Clipping," 
as this was called, was harshly punished, but that did not stop 
the practice, which continued for hundreds of years. Nowadays 
our coins are 
perfectly round 
and often have 
" milled" edges, 
so that no one 
would think of 
trying to appro- 
priate bits of 
them as they 
pass through 
his hands. 

It was univer- 
sally believed 
that everything 
had a "just" 
price, which was 
merely enough 
to cover the 
cost of the ma- 
terials used in 
its manufacture 

and to remunerate the maker for the work he had put into it. 
It was considered outrageous to ask more than the just price, no 
matter how anxious the purchaser might be to obtain the article. 

Every manufacturer was required to keep a shop in which he Difficulties 
offered at retail all that he made. Those who lived near a town wholesakf ° 
were permitted to sell their products in the market place within 
the walls on condition that they sold directly to the consumers. 
They might not dispose of their whole stock to one dealer, for 
fear that if he had all there was of a commodity he might raise 





Fig. 55. Medieval Coins 

The two upper coins reproduce the face and back of 
a silver penny of William the Conqueror's reign, and 
below is a silver groat of Edward III. The same ir- 
regularities in outline, it may be noted, are to be 
observed in Greek and Roman coins 



trade 



212 



Medieval and Modern Times 



the price above the just one. These ideas made wholesale trade 
very difficult. 

Akin to these prejudices against wholesale business was that 
against interest. Money was believed to be a dead and sterile 
thing, and no one had a right to demand any return for lending 
it. Interest was considered wicked, since it was exacted by those 
who took advantage of the embarrassments of others. " Usury," 
as the taking of even the most moderate and reasonable rate 
of interest was then called, was strenuously forbidden by the 
laws of the Church. We find church councils ordering that im- 
penitent usurers should be refused Christian burial and have 
their wills annulled. So money lending, which is necessary to all 
great commercial and industrial undertakings, was left to the 
Jews, from whom Christian conduct was not expected. 

This ill-starred p'eople played a most important part in the 
economic development of Europe, but they were terribly mal- 
treated by the Christians, who held them guilty of the supreme 
crime of putting Christ to death. The active persecution of the 
Jews did not, however, become common before the thirteenth 
century, when they first began to be required to wear a peculiar 
cap, or badge, which made them easily recognized and exposed 
them to constant insult. Later they were sometimes shut up 
in a particular quarter of the city, called the Jewry. As they 
were excluded from the guilds, they not unnaturally turned 
to the business of money lending, which no Christian might 
practice. Undoubtedly this occupation had much to do in 
causing their unpopularity. The kings permitted them to make 
loans, often at a most exorbitant rate ; Philip Augustus allowed 
them to exact forty-six per cent, but reserved the right to extort 
their gains from them when the royal treasury was empty. In 
England the usual rate was a penny a pound for each week. 

In the thirteenth century the Italians — Lombards, as the 
English called them 1 — began to go into a sort of banking 

1 There is a Lombard Street in the center of old London where one still finds 
banks. 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 213 

business and greatly extended the employment of bills of ex- 
change. They lent for nothing, but exacted damages for all de- 
lay in repayment. This appeared reasonable and right even 
to those who condemned ordinary interest. 

Another serious disadvantage which the medieval merchant Tolls, duties, 
had to face was the payment of an infinite number of tolls and annoyances 
duties which were demanded by the lords through whose domains to wl ^ lch 

J ° merchants 

his road passed. Not only were duties exacted on the highways, were sub- 
bridges, and at the fords, but those barons who were so fortunate land 
as to have castles on a navigable river blocked the stream in such 
a way that the merchant could not bring his vessel through 
without a payment for the privilege. 

The charges were usually small, but the way in which they 
were collected and the repeated delays must have been a serious 
source of irritation and loss to the merchants. For example, a 
certain monastery lying between Paris and the sea required that 
those hastening to town with fresh fish should stop and let the 
monks pick out what they thought worth three pence, with little 
regard to the condition in which they left the goods. When a 
boat laden with wine passed up the Seine to Paris, the agent 
of the lord of Poissy could have three casks broached, and, 
after trying them all, he could take a measure from the one 
he liked best. At the markets all sorts of dues had to be paid, 
such, for example, as fees for using the lord's scales or his 
measuring rod. Besides this, the great variety of coinage 
which existed in feudal Europe caused infinite perplexity and 
delay. 

Commerce by sea had its own particular trials, by no means Dangers 
confined to the hazards of wind and wave, rock and shoal. y sea 
Pirates were numerous in the North Sea. They were often Pirates 
organized and sometimes led by men of high rank, who appear 
to have regarded the business as no disgrace. The coasts were 
dangerous and lighthouses and beacons were few. Moreover, 
natural dangers were increased by false signals which wreckers 
used to lure ships to shore in order to plunder them. 



214 



Medieval and Modern Times 



With a view to mitigating these manifold perils, the towns 
early began to form unions for mutual defense. The most 
famous of these was that of the German cities, called the 
Hanseatic League. Liibeck was always the leader, but among 
the seventy towns which at one time and another were included 
in the confederation, we find Cologn e, Brunswick, Danzig, and 
other centers of great importance. The union purchased and 
controlled settlements in London, — the so-called Steelyard near 
London Bridge, — at Wisby, Bergen, and the far-off Novgorod 
in Russia. They managed to monopolize nearly the whole trade 
on the Baltic and North Sea, either through treaties or the 
influence that they were able to bring to bear. 1 

The League made war on the pirates and did much to reduce 
the dangers of traffic. Instead of dispatching separate and 
defenseless merchantmen, their ships sailed out in fleets under 
the protection of a man-of-war. On one occasion the League 
undertook a successful war against the king of Denmark, who 
had interfered with their interests. At another time it declared 
war on England and brought her to terms. For two hundred 
years before the discovery of America, the League played a 
great part in the commercial affairs of western Europe ; but it 
had begun to decline even before the discovery of new routes 
to the East and West Indies revolutionized trade. 

It should be observed that, during the thirteenth, fourteenth, 
and fifteenth centuries, trade was not carried on between nations, 
but by the various towns, like Venice, Liibeck, Ghent, Bruges, 
Cologne. A merchant did not act or trade as an independent 
individual but as a member of a particular merchant guild, and 
he enjoyed the protection of his town and of the treaties it 
arranged. If a merchant from a certain town failed to pay a 
debt, a fellow-townsman might be seized if found in the town 
where the debt was due. At the period of which we have been 
speaking, an inhabitant of London was considered as much of 
a foreigner in Bristol as was the merchant from Cologne or 

1 The ships of the Hanseatic League were very small (see below, Fig. 102). 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 215 

Antwerp. Only gradually did the towns merge into the nations 
to which their people belonged. 

The increasing wealth of the merchants could not fail to raise The business 
them to a position of importance which earlier tradesmen had ^^°be- 6 
not enjoyed. They began to build fine houses and to buy the come an in- 
various comforts and luxuries which were finding their way into class 
western Europe. They wanted their sons to be educated, and 
so it came about that other people besides clergymen began to 
learn how to read and write. As early as the fourteenth century 
many of the books appear to have been written with a view of 
meeting the tastes and needs of the business class. 

Representatives of the towns were summoned to the councils 
of the kings — into the English Parliament and the French 
Estates General about the year 1300, for the monarch was 
obliged to ask their advice when he demanded their money to 
carry on his government and his wars (see above, p. 128). The 
rise of the business class alongside of the older orders of the 
clergy and nobility is one of the most momentous changes of 
the thirteenth century. 

Gothic Architecture 

44 . Almost all the medieval buildings have disappeared in the Disappear- 
ancient towns of Europe. The stone town walls, no longer ade- medieval 
quate in our times, have been removed, and their place taken buildm s s 
by broad and handsome avenues. The old houses have been 
torn down in order to widen and straighten the streets and 
permit the construction of modern dwellings. Here and there 
one can still find a walled town, but they are few in number 
and are merely curiosities (see Fig. 77). 

Of the buildings erected in towns during the Middle Ages The churches 
only the churches remain, but these fill the beholder with wonder sunned 6 
and admiration. It seems impossible that the cities of the 
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which were neither very large 
nor very rich, could possibly find money enough to pay for 



2l6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



them. It has been estimated that the bishop's church at Paris 
(Notre Dame) would cost at least five millions of dollars to re- 
produce, and there are a number of other cathedrals in France, 
England, Italy, Spain, and Germany which must have been 
almost as costly. No modern buildings equal them in beauty 




Fig. 56. Romanesque Church of Chatel-Montagne in the 
Department of Allier, France 

This is a pure Romanesque building with no alterations in a later style, 
such as are common. Heavy as the walls are, they are reenforced by 
buttresses along the side. All the arches are round, none of them pointed 



and grandeur, and they are the most striking memorial of the 
religious spirit and the town pride of the Middle Ages. 

The-construction of a cathedral sometimes extended over two 
or three centuries, and much of the money for it must have 
been gathered penny by penny. It should be remembered that 
every one belonged in those days to the one great Catholic 
Church, so that the building of a new church was a matter of 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 217 



interest to the whole community — to men of every rank, from 
the bishop himself to the workman and the peasant. 

Up to the twelfth century churches were built in what is The Roman- 
called the Romanesque, or Roman-like, style because they re- esque sty e 
sembled the solid old basilicas referred to in an earlier chapter 
(see p. 43 above). These Romanesque churches usually had 
stone ceilings (see Figs. 
36, 38, 56), and it was 
necessary to make the 
walls very thick and solid 
to support them. There 
was a main aisle in the 
center, called the nave, 
and a narrower aisle on 
either side, separated 
from the nave by massive 
stone pillars, which helped 
hold up the heavy ceiling. 
These pillars were con- 
nected by round arches 
of stone above them. The 
tops of the windows were 
round, and the ceiling 
was constructed of round 
vaults, somewhat like a 
stone bridge, so the round 
arches form one of the 

striking features of the Romanesque style which distinguishes 
it from the Gothic style, that followed it. The windows had to 
be small in order that the walls should not be weakened, so the 
Romanesque churches are rather dark inside. 

The architects of France were not satisfied, however, with The Gothic 
this method of building, and in the twelfth century they invented sty e 
a new and wonderful way of constructing churches and other 
buildings which enabled them to do away with the heavy walls 




Fig. 57. Figures on Notre 
Dame, Paris 

Such grotesque figures as these are very 
common adornments of Gothic build- 
ings. They are often used for spouts to 
carry off the rain and are called gar- 
goyles, that is, " throats " (compare our 
words "gargle" and "gurgle"). The 
two here represented are perched on a 
parapet of one of the church's towers 



218 



Medieval and Modern Times 




Fig. 58. Cross Section of Amiens 
Cathedral 

It will be noticed that there is a row of 
rather low windows opening under the 
roof of the aisle. These constitute the 
so-called triforiutn {£). Above them is 
the clerestory (F), the windows of which 
open between the flying buttresses. So 
it came about that the walls of a Gothic 
church were in fact mainly windows. The 
Egyptians were the first to invent the 
clerestory 



and put high, wide, 
graceful windows in 
their place. This new 
style of architecture is 
known as the Gothic^ 
and its underlying prin- 
ciples can readily be 
understood from a 
little study of the ac- 
companying diagram 
(Fig. 58), which shows 
how a Gothic cathedral 
is supported, not by 
heavy walls, but by 
buttresses. 

The architects dis- 
covered in the first 
place that the concave 
stone ceiling, which is 
known as the vaulting 
(A), could be supported 
by ribs (B). These 
could in turn be brought 
together and supported 
on top of pillars which 

1 The inappropriate name 
" Gothic " was given to the 
beautiful churches of the 
North by Italian architects 
of the sixteenth century, who 
did not like them and pre- 
ferred to build in the style 
of the ancient Romans. The 
Italians with their " classical " 
tastes assumed that only 
German barbarians — whom 
they carelessly called Goths 
— could admire a Gothic 
cathedral. 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 219 



rested on the floor of the church. So far so good ! But the 
builders knew well enough that the pillars and ribs would be 
pushed over by the weight and outward " thrust " of the stone 
vaulting if they were not firmly supported from the outside. 
Instead of erecting 
heavy walls to insure 
this support they 
had recourse to but- 
tresses (D), which 
they built quite out- 
side the walls of the 
church, and con- 
nected them by 
means of "flying" 
buttresses (C) with 
the points where the 
pillars and ribs had 
the most tendency 
to push outward. In 
this way a vaidted 
stone ceiling coidd 
be supported without 
the use of a massive 
wall. This ingen- 
ious use of but- 
tresses instead of 
walls is the funda- 
mental principle of 
Gothic architecture, 

and it was discovered for the first time by the architects in 
the medieval towns. 

The wall, no longer essential for supporting the ceiling, was The pointed 
used only to inclose the building, and windows could be built as 
high and wide as pleased the architect. By the use of pointed 
instead of round arches it was possible to give great variety to 




Fig. 59. Flying Buttresses of Notre 
Dame, Paris 

The size of the buttresses and the height of 

the clerestory windows of a great cathedral 

are well shown here 



220 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



the windows and vaulting. So pointed arches came into general 
use, and the Gothic is often called the " pointed " style on this 
account, although the use of the ribs and buttresses is the chief 
peculiarity of that form of architecture, not the pointed arch. 

The light ~ from the huge windows (those at Beauvais are 
fifty to fifty-five feet high) would have been too intense had it 
not been softened by the stained glass, set in exquisite stone 




Fig. 60. Grotesque Heads, Rheims Cathedral 

Here and there about a Gothic cathedral the stone carvers were accus- 
tomed to place grotesque and comical figures and faces. During the 
process of restoring the cathedral at Rheims a number of these heads 
were brought together, and the photograph was taken upon which the 
illustration is based 

tracery, with which they were filled. The stained glass of the 
medieval cathedral, especially in France, where the glass 
workers brought their art to the greatest perfection, was one 
of its chief glories. By far the greater part of this old glass 
has of course been destroyed, but it is still so highly prized that 
every bit of it is now carefully preserved, for it has never since 
been equaled. A window set with odd bits of it pieced together 
like crazy patchwork is more beautiful, in its rich and jewel-like 
coloring, than the finest modern work. 




Facade of the Cathedral at Rheims (Thirteenth 
Century) 










m i ] 



Rose Window of Rheims Cathedral, nearly Forty 
feet in Diameter, from the Inside 




Interior of Exeter Cathedral (Early Fourteenth 
Century) 




North Porch of Chartres Cathedral (Fourteenth 
Century) 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 221 



As the skill of the architects increased they became bolder Gothic 
and bolder and erected churches that were marvels of lightness scu pture 
and delicacy of ornament, without sacrificing dignity or beauty 
of proportion. The facade of Rheims cathedral is one of 
the most famous examples of the best 
work of the thirteenth century, with its 
multitudes of sculptured figures and its 
gigantic rose window, filled with ex- 
quisite stained glass of great brilliancy. 
The interior of Exeter cathedral, although 
by no means so spacious as a number 
of the French churches, affords an excel- 
lent example of the beauty and impres- 
siveness of a Gothic interior. The porch 
before the north entrance of Chartres 
cathedral is a magnificent example of 
fourteenth-century work (see the accom- 
panying illustrations). 

One of the charms of a Gothic build- 
ing is the profusion of carving — statues 
of saints and rulers and scenes from the 
Bible, cut in stone. The same kind of 
stone was used for both constructing the 
building and making the statues, so they 
harmonize perfectly. A fine example of 
medieval carving is to be seen in Fig. 61. 
Here and there the Gothic stone carvers 
would introduce amusing faces or comical 
animals (see Figs. 57, 60). 

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Gothic buildings Gothic used 
other than churches were built. The most striking and impor- churches 
tant of these were the guild halls, erected by the rich corpora- 
tions of merchants, and the town halls of important cities. But 
the Gothic style has always seemed specially appropriate for 
churches. Its lofty aisles and open floor spaces, its soaring 




FfG. 61. Eve and 

the Serpent, 
Rheims 



222 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



arches leading the eye toward heaven, and its glowing windows 
suggesting the glories of paradise, may well have fostered the 
faith of the medieval Christian. 



Map of 
Italy in the 
fourteenth 
century 



Venice and 
its relations 
with the 
East 



The Italian Cities of the Renaissance 

45. We have been speaking so far of the town life in northern 
Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. We must now 
see how the Italian towns in the following two centuries reached 
a degree of prosperity and refinement undreamed of north of 
the Alps. Within their walls learning and art made such ex- 
traordinary progress that a special name is often given to the 
period when they flourished — the Re?iaissance} or new birth. 
The Italian towns, like those of ancient Greece, were each a 
little state with its own peculiar life and institutions. Some of 
them, like Rome, Milan, and Pisa, had been important in Roman 
times ; others, like Venice, Florence, and Genoa, did not become 
conspicuous until about the time of the Crusades. 

The map of Italy at the beginning of the fourteenth century 
was still divided into three zones, as it had been in the time of 
the Hohenstaufens. 2 To the south lay the kingdom of Naples. 
Then came the states of the Church, extending diagonally across 
the peninsula. To the north and west lay the group of city- 
states to which we now turn our attention. 

Of these none was more celebrated than Venice, which in the 
history of Europe ranks in importance with Paris and London. 
This singular town was built upon a group of sandy islets lying 
in the Adriatic Sea, about two miles from the mainland. It was 
protected from the waves by a long, narrow sand bar similar to 
those which fringe the Atlantic coast from New Jersey south- 
ward. Such a situation would not ordinarily have been delib- 
erately chosen as the site of a great city ; but it was a good 

1 This word, although originally French, has come into such common use 
that it is quite permissible to pronounce it as if it were English, — re-na 'sens. 

2 See map above, p. 160. 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Btiildings 223 

place for fishermen, and its very desolation and inaccessibility 
recommended it to those settlers who fled from their homes on the 
mainland during the barbarian invasions. As time went on, the 
location proved to have its advantages commercially, and even 
before the Crusades Venice had begun to engage in foreign 



iift 

Swfp /i'i livf/iCi & 9 






'Tr^l'^ P :; 11 ""^ri^ 










Fig. 62. A Scene in Venice 

Boats, called gondolas, take the place of carriages in Venice ; one can 
reach any point in the city by some one of the numerous canals, which 
take the place of streets. There are also narrow lanes along the canals, 
crossing them here and there by bridges, so one can wander about 
the town on foot 

trade. Its enterprises carried it eastward, and it early acquired 
possessions across the Adriatic and in the Orient. The influ- 
ence of this intercourse with the East is plainly shown in the 
celebrated church of St. Mark, whose domes and decorations 
suggest Constantinople rather than Italy (Fig. 63). 

It was not until early in the fifteenth century that Venice 
found it to her interest to extend her sway upon the Italian 



224 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Venice ex- 
tends her 
sway on the 
mainland 



mainland. She doubtless believed it dangerous to permit her 
rival, Milan, to get possession of the Alpine passes through 
which her goods found their way north. It may be, too, that she 




Fig. 63. St. Mark's and the Doge's Palace in Venice 

One sees the facade of St. Mark's to the left, and that of the doge's 
palace beyond. The church, modeled after one in Constantinople, 
was planned before the First Crusade and is adorned with numerous 
colored marble columns and slabs brought from the East. The interior 
is covered with mosaics, some of which go back to the twelfth and the 
thirteenth century. The facade is also adorned with brilliant mosaics. 
St. Mark's " is unique among the buildings of the world in respect 
to its unparalleled richness of material and decoration." The doge's 
palace contained the government offices and the magnificent halls in 
which the senate and Council of Ten met. The palace was begun 
about 1300, and the facade v/e see in the picture was commenced 
about a hundred years later. It shows the influence of the Gothic 
style, which penetrated into northern Italy 

preferred to draw her food supplies from the neighborhood in- 
stead of transporting them across the Adriatic from her eastern 
possessions. Moreover, all the Italian cities except Venice al- 
ready controlled a larger or smaller area of country about them. 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 225 

About the year 1400 Venice reached the height of its pros- 
perity. It had a population of two hundred thousand, which was 
very large for those days. It had three hundred seagoing 
vessels which went to and fro in the Mediterranean, carrying 
wares from the East to the West. It had a war fleet of forty- 
five galleys, manned by eleven thousand marines ready to 



Fig. 64. Senate Chamber in the Doge's Palace 

This is an example of the magnificent decoration of the rooms used by 

the Venetian government. It was adorned by celebrated painters in 

the sixteenth century, when Venice became famous for its artists 

fight the battles of the republic, and had agents in every im- 
portant city of Europe. But when the route to India by sea 
was discovered (see next section), Venice could no longer 
keep control of the trade with the East, and while it remained 
an important city, it no longer enjoyed its former influence 
and power. 

Although Venice was called a republic, it was really gov- 
erned by a very small group of persons. In 131 1, after a 



226 



Medieval a7id Modem Times 



rebellion, the famous Council of Ten was created as a sort of 
committee of public safety. The whole government, domestic and 
foreign, was placed in its hands, in conjunction with the senate 
and the doge (that is, duke), the nominal head of the republic. 
The government, thus concentrated in the hands of a very few, 
was carried on with great secrecy, so that public discussion, 
such as prevailed in Florence and led to innumerable revolu- 
tions there, was unheard of in Venice. The Venetian merchant 
was such a busy person that he was quite willing that the State 
should exercise its functions without his interference. 

Venice often came to blows with other rival cities, especially 
Genoa, but its citizens lived quietly at home under the govern- 
ment of its senate, the Council of Ten, and the doge. The 
other Italian towns were not only fighting one another much of 
the time, but their government was often in the hands of despots, 
somewhat like the old Greek tyrants, who got control of towns 
and managed them in their own interest. 

There are many stories of the incredible ferocity exhibited 
by the Italian despots. It must be remembered that they were 
very rarely legitimate rulers, but usurpers, who could only hope 
to retain their power so long as they could keep their subjects 
in check and defend themselves against equally illegitimate 
usurpers in the neighboring cities. This situation developed a 
high degree of sagacity, and many of the despots .found it to 
their interest to govern well and even to give dignity to their 
rule by patronizing artists and men of letters. But the despot 
usually made many bitter enemies and was almost necessarily 
suspicious of treason on the part of those about him. He was 
ever conscious that at any moment he might fall a victim to 
the dagger or the poison cup. 

The Italian towns carried on their wars among themselves 
largely by means of hired troops. When a military expedition 
was proposed, a bargain was made with one of the professional 
leaders (condottieri), who provided the necessary force. As the 
soldiers had no more interest in the conflict than did those whom 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 227 



they opposed, who were likewise hired for the occasion, the 
fight was not usually very bloody ; for the object of each side 
was to capture the other without unnecessarily rough treatment. 

It sometimes 
happened that the 
leader who had 
conquered a town 
for his employer 
appropriated the 
fruits of the vic- 
tory for himself. 
This occurred in 
the' case of Milan 
in 1450. The old 
line of despots 
(the Visconti) 
having died out, 
the citizens hired 
a certain captain, 
named Francesco 
Sforza, to assist 
them in a war 
against Venice, 
whose possessions 
now extended al- 
most to those 
of Milan. When 
Sforza had repelled 
the Venetians, the 
Milanese found it 
impossible to get 
rid of him, and 
he and his succes- 
sors became rulers 
over the town. 




Fig. 6$. Tomb of an Italian Despot 

The family of the Visconti maintained them- 
selves many years as despots of Milan. Gian 
Galeazzo Visconti began in 1396 a magnificent 
Carthusian monastery not far from Milan, one of 
the most beautiful structures in Italy. Here, 
long after his death, a monument was erected to 
him as founder of the monastery. The monu- 
ment was begun about 1500 but not completed' 
' for several decades 



228 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Machiavelli's 
Prince 



Florence 



The Medici 



Lorenzo the 
Magnificent 



An excellent notion of the position and policy of the Italian 
despots may be derived from a little treatise caUed The Prifice, 
written by the distinguished Florentine historian, Machiavelli. 
The writer appears to have intended his book as a practical 
manual for the despots of his time. It is a cold-blooded discus- 
sion of the ways in which a usurper may best retain his control 
over a town after he has once got possession of it. The author 
even takes up the questions as to how far princes should con- 
sider their promises when it is inconvenient to keep them, and 
how many of the inhabitants the despot may wisely kill. 
Machiavelli concludes that the Italian princes who have not 
observed their engagements overscrupulously, and who have 
boldly put their political adversaries out of the way, have fared 
better than their more conscientious rivals. 

The history of Florence, perhaps the most important of the 
Italian cities, differs in many ways from that of Venice and of 
the despotisms of which Milan was an example. Florence was a 
republic, and all classes claimed the right to interest themselves 
in the government. This led to constant changes in the constitu- 
tion and frequent struggles between the different political parties. 
When one party got the upper hand it generally expelled its 
chief opponents from the city. Exile was a terrible punishment 
to a Florentine, for Florence was not merely his native city- — 
it was his country, and loved and honored as such. 

By the middle of the fifteenth century Florence had come 
under the control of the great family of the Medici, whose 
members played the role of very enlightened political bosses. 
By quietly watching the .elections and secretly controlling the 
selection of city officials, . they governed without letting it be 
suspected that the people had lost their power. The most dis- 
tinguished member of the House of Medici was Lorenzo the 
Magnificent (d. 1492) ; under his rule Florence reached the 
height of its glory in art and literature. 

As one wanders about Florence to-day, he is impressed with 
the contradictions of the Renaissance period. The streets are 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 229 




Wmmsm : 



lined with the palaces of the noble families to whose rivalries 
much of the continual disturbance was due. The lower stories 
of these build- 
ings are con- 
structed of great 
stones, like for- 
tresses, and 
their windows 
are barred like 
those of a prison 
(Fig. 66); yet 
within they were 
often furnished 
with the great- 
est taste and 
luxury. Tor in 
spite of the dis- 
order, against 
which the rich 
protected them- 
selves by mak- 
ing their houses 
half strongholds, 
the beautiful 
churches, noble 
public build- 
ings, and works 
of art which 
now fill the mu- 
seums indicate 
that mankind 
has never, per- 
haps, reached a 

higher degree of perfection in the arts of peace than amidst 
the turmoil of this restless town (see below, section 52). 



IP 










^mm 



Fig. 66. The 



Palace of the 
Florence 



Medici in 



This was erected about 1435 by Cosimo dei Medici, 
and in it Lprenzo the Magnificent conducted the 
government of Florence and entertained the men 
of letters and artists with whom he liked best to as- 
sociate. It shows how fortresslike the lower por- 
tions of a Florentine palace were, in order to protect 
the owner from attack 



230 



Medieval and Modern Times 



During the same period in which Venice and Florence became 
leaders in wealth and refinement, Rome, the capital of the popes, 

likewise underwent a 
great change. After the 
popes returned from 
their seventy years' resi- 
dence in France and 
Avignon (see above, 
p. 199) they found the 
town in a dilapidated 
state. For years they 
were able to do little to 
restore it, as there was 
a long period during 
which the papacy was 
weakened by tne exist- 
ence of a rival line of 
popes who continued to 
live at Avignon. When 
the " great schism " was 
over and all the Euro- 
pean nations once more 
acknowledged the pope 
at Rome (141 7), it be- 
came possible to improve 
the city and revive some 
of its ancient glory. 
Architects, painters, and 
men of letters were called 
in and handsomely paid 
by the popes to erect and 
adorn magnificent build- 
ings and to collect a 
great library in the Vati- 
can palace. 




Fig. 67. Cathedral and Bell 
Tower at Florence 

The church was begun in 1 296 and com- 
pleted in 1436. The great dome built by 
the architect Brunelleschi has made his 
name famous. It is 300 feet high. The 
facade is modern but after an old design. 
The bell tower, or campanile, was begun 
by the celebrated painter Giotto about 
1335 and completed about fifty years later. 
It is richly adorned with sculpture and 
colored marbles and is considered the 
finest structure of the kind in the world 



Medieval Tozuns — their B?isiness and Buildings 231 

The ancient basilica of St. Peter's (Fig; 13) no longer satis- 
fied the aspirations of the popes. It was gradually torn down, 
and after many changes of plan the present celebrated church 
with its vast dome and imposing approach (Fig. 68) took its 



St Peter's 
rebuilt 




Fig. 68. St. Peter's and the Vatican Palace 

This is the largest church in the world. It is about 700 feet long, includ- 
ing the portico, and 435 feet high, from the pavement to the cross on the 
dome. The reconstruction was begun as early as 1450 but it proceeded 
very slowly. Several great architects, Bramante, Raphael, Michael 
Angelo, and others were intrusted with the work. After many changes 
of plan the new church was finally in condition to consecrate in 1626. 
It is estimated that it cost over $50,000,000. The construction of the 
vast palace of the popes, which one sees to the right of the church, was 
carried on during the same period. It is said to have no less than eleven 
thousand rooms. Some of them are used for museums and others 
are celebrated for the frescoes which adorn their walls, by Raphael, 
Michael Angelo, and other of Italy's greatest artists 

place. The old palace of the Lateran (Fig. 12), where the The Vatican 
government of the popes had been carried on for a thousand 
years, had been deserted after the return from Avignon, and 
the new palace of the Vatican was gradually constructed to the 
right of St. Peter's. It has thousands of rooms great and small, 



232 Medieval and Modern Times 

some of them adorned by the most distinguished of the Italian 
painters, and others filled with ancient statuary. 

As one visits Venice, Florence, and Rome to-day he may still 
see, almost perfectly preserved, many of the finest of the build- 
ings, paintings, and monuments which belong to the period we 
have been discussing. 



Early Geographical Discoveries 

Medieval 46. The business and commerce of the medieval towns was 

a^mTn^caie 1 on wnat would seem to us a rather small scale. There were 
no great factories, such as have grown up in recent times with 
the use of steam and machinery, and the ships which sailed 
the Mediterranean and the North Sea were small and held only 
a very light cargo compared with modern merchant vessels. 
The gradual growth of a world commerce began with the sea 
voyages of the fifteenth century, which led to the exploration by 
Europeans of the whole globe, most of which was entirely 
unknown to the Venetian merchants and those who carried on 
the trade of the Hanseatic League. The Greeks and Romans 
knew little about the world beyond southern Europe, northern 
Africa, and western Asia, and much that they knew was for- 
gotten during the Middle Ages. The Crusades took many 
Europeans as far east as Egypt and Syria. About 1260 two 
Venetian merchants, the Polo brothers, visited China and were 
kindly received at Pekin by the emperor of the Mongols. On 
Marco Polo a second journey they were accompanied by Marco Polo, the 
son of one of the brothers. When they got safely back to 
Venice in 1295, after a journey of twenty years, Marco gave 
an account of his experiences which filled his readers with 
wonder. Nothing stimulated the interest of the West more than 
his fabulous description of the abundance of gold in Zipangu 
(Japan) * and of the spice markets of the Moluccas and Ceylon. 

l See below, p. 236. 




233 



234 



Medieval and Mode7'n Times 



The dis- 
coveries of 
the Portu- 
guese in the 
fourteenth 
and fifteenth 
centuries 



The spice 
trade 



About the year 13 18 Venice and Genoa opened up direct 
communication by sea with the towns of the Netherlands. 
Their fleets, which touched at the port of Lisbon, aroused the 
commercial enterprise of the Portuguese, who soon began to 
undertake extended maritime expeditions. By the middle of the 
fourteenth century they had discovered the Canary Islands, 
Madeira, and the Azores. Before this time no one had ven- 
tured along the coast of Africa beyond the arid region of 
Sahara. The country was forbidding, there were no ports, 
and mariners were, moreover, discouraged by the general belief 
that the torrid region was uninhabitable. In 1445, however, 
some adventurous sailors came within sight of a headland beyond 
the desert and, struck by its luxuriant growth of tropical trees, 
they called it Cape Verde (the green cape). Its discovery put 
an end once for all to the idea that there were only parched 
deserts to the south. 

For a generation longer the Portuguese continued to venture 
farther and farther along the coast, in the hope of finding it 
coming to an end, so that they might make their way by sea 
to India. At last, in i486, Diaz rounded the Cape of Good 
Hope. Twelve years later (1498) Vasco da Gama, spurred on 
by Columbus's great discovery, after sailing around the Cape 
of Good Hope and northward beyond Zanzibar, aided by an 
Arab pilot steered straight across the Indian Ocean and reached 
Calicut, in Hindustan, by sea. 

Vasco da Gama and his fellow adventurers were looked upon 
with natural suspicion by the Mohammedan spice merchants, 
who knew very well that their object was to establish direct trade 
between the Spice Islands (Moluccas) and western Europe. 
Hitherto the Mohammedans had had the monopoly of the spice 
trade between the Moluccas and the eastern ports of the Med- 
iterranean, where the products were handed over to Italian mer- 
chants. The Mohammedans were unable, however, to prevent 
the Portuguese from concluding treaties with the Indian princes 
and establishing trading stations at Goa and elsewhere. In 1 5 1 2 



Medieval Towns — their Business mid Buildings 235 

a successor of Vasco da Gama reached Java and the Moluccas, 
where the Portuguese speedily built a fortress. By 15 15 Por- 
tugal had become the greatest among sea powers ; and spices 
reached Lisbon regularly without the intervention of the Moham- 
medan merchants or the Italian towns, which, especially Venice, 
were mortally afflicted by the change (see above, p. 225). 







The Malay Archipelago 

The outline of the United States has been drawn in to make clear the 
vast extent of the region explored by the Portuguese at the opening 
of the sixteenth century. It is not far from 2000 miles from Ceylon to 
Malacca Strait, and as far from there on to the Spice Islands as from 
Denver to Richmond, Virginia 



There is no doubt that the desire to obtain spices was at importance 
this time the main reason for the exploration of the globe, encouraging 
This motive led European navigators to try in succession every navigation 
possible way to reach the East — by going around Africa, by 
sailing west in the hope of reaching the Indies (before they 
knew of the existence of America), then, after America was 
discovered, by sailing around it to the north or south, and even 
sailing around Europe to the north. 



236 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Idea of 
reaching 
the Spice 
Islands by 
sailing 
westward 



Columbus 
discovers 
America, 
1492 



Magellan's 
expedition 
around the 
world 



It is hard for us to understand this enthusiasm for spices, for 
which we care much less nowadays. One former use of spices 
was to preserve food, which could not then as now be carried 
rapidly, while still fresh, from place to place ; nor did our con- 
veniences then exist for keeping it by the use of ice. Moreover, 
spice served to make even spoiled food more palatable than it 
would otherwise have been. 

It inevitably occurred to thoughtful men that the East Indies 
could be reached by sailing westward. All intelligent people 
knew, all through the Middle Ages, that the earth was a globe. 
The chief authority upon the form and size of the earth con- 
tinued to be the ancient astronomer Ptolemy, who had lived 
about 150 a.d. He had reckoned the earth to be about one sixth 
smaller than it is ; and as Marco Polo had given an exaggerated 
idea of the distance which he and his companions had traveled 
eastward, and as no one suspected the existence of the Amer- 
ican continents, it was supposed that it could not be a very long 
journey from Europe across the Atlantic to Japan. 1 

In 1492, as we all know, a Genoese navigator, Columbus 
(b. 145 1 ), who had had much experience on the sea, got together 
three little ships and undertook the journey westward to Zipangu, 
— the land of gold, — which he hoped to reach in five weeks. 
After thirty-two days from the time he left the Canary Islands 
he came upon land, the island of San Salvador, and believed 
himself to be in the East Indies. Going on from there he dis- 
covered the island of Cuba, which he believed to be the main- 
land of Asia, and then Haiti, which he mistook for the longed-for 
Zipangu (see p. 232). Although he made three later expedi- 
tions and sailed down the coast of South America as far as 
the Orinoco, he died without realizing that he had not been 
exploring the coast of Asia. 

After the bold enterprises of Vasco da Gama and Columbus, 
an expedition headed by the Portuguese Magellan succeeded 
in circumnavigating the globe. There was now no reason why 

1 See accompanying reproduction of Behaim's globe. 




A Map of the Globe in the Time of Columbus 



In 1492 a German mariner, Behaim, made a globe which is still preserved in 
Nuremberg. He did not know of the existence of the American continents or of 
the vast Pacific Ocean. It will be noticed that he places Japan (Cipango) where 
Mexico lies. In the reproduction many names are omitted and the outlines of 
North and South America are sketched in so as to make clear the misconceptions 

of Columbus's time 



Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 237 

the new lands should not become more and more familiar to • 
the European nations. The coast of North America was ex- 
plored principally by English navigators, who for over a century 
pressed northward, still in the vain hope of finding a northwest 
passage to the Spice Islands. 

Cortes began the Spanish conquests in the western world by The Spanish 
undertaking the subjugation of the Aztec empire in Mexico America^ * 
in 15 19. A few years later Pizarro established the Spanish 
power in Peru. Spain now superseded Portugal as a mari- 
time power, and her importance in the sixteenth century is 
to be attributed largely to the wealth which came to her 
from her possessions in the New World — mainly gold and 
silver. 

By the end of the century the Spanish main — that is, the The Spanish 
northern coast of South America — was much frequented by 
adventurous seamen, who combined in about equal parts the 
occupations of merchant, slaver, and pirate. Many of these 
hailed from English ports, and it is to them that England owes 
the beginning of her commercial greatness. 

It is hardly necessary to say that Europeans exhibited an 
utter disregard for the rights of the people with whom they 
came in contact and often treated them with contemptuous 
cruelty. The exploration of the globe and the conquest by 
European nations of peoples beyond the sea led finally to the 
vast colonization of modern times, which has caused many wars 
but has served to spread European ideas throughout the world. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 42. Why are towns necessary to progress ? How did the 
towns of the eleventh and twelfth centuries originate ? What was the 
nature of a town charter ? Describe the guild organization. 

Section 43. Describe the revival and extending of commerce in 
the Middle Ages. What were some of the obstacles to business? 
Describe the Hanseatic League. 



238 Medieval and Modem Times 

Section 44. What are the chief characteristics of Romanesque 
churches? What were the principles of construction which made it 
possible to build a Gothic church ? Tell something about the decora- 
tion of a Gothic church. 

Section 45. Describe the map of Italy in the fourteenth century. 
What are the peculiarities of Venice? W T ho were the Italian despots? 
What is the interest of Machiavelli's Prince ? Contrast Florence with 
Venice. 

Section 46. What geographical discoveries were made before 
1500? How far is it by sea from Lisbon to Calicut around the 
Cape of Good Hope? What was the importance of the spice trade? 
What led Columbus to try to reach the Indies by sailing westward? 



CHAPTER XII 

BOOKS AND SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 

How the Modern Languages originated 

47. We should leave the Middle Ages with a very imperfect 
notion of them if we did not now stop to consider what people 
were thinking about during that period, what they had to read, 
and what they believed about the world in which they lived. 

To begin with, the Middle Ages differed from our own time General use 
in the very general use then made of Latin, in both writing and ° n th g m 
speaking. The language of the Roman Empire continued to be Middle A S es 
used in the thirteenth century, and long after ; all books that 
made any claim to learning were written in Latin ; 1 the pro- 
fessors in the universities lectured in Latin, friends wrote to one 
another in Latin, and state papers, treaties, and legal documents 
were drawn up in the same language. The ability of every edu- 
cated person to make use of Latin, as well as of his native tongue, 
was a great advantage at a. time when there were many obstacles 
to intercourse among the various nations. It helps to explain, 
for example, the remarkable way in which the pope kept in 
touch with all the clergymen of western Christendom, and the 
ease with which students, friars, and merchants could wander 
from one country to another. There is no more interesting or 
important revolution than that by which the languages of the 
people in the various European countries gradually pushed aside 
the ancient tongue and took its place, so that even scholars 
scarcely ever think now of writing books in Latin. 

1 In Germany the books published annually in the German language did not 
exceed those in Latin until after 1690. 

239 



240 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Ger- 
manic lan- 
guages 
derived from 
the dialects 
of the 
German 
barbarians 



The Romance 
languages 
derived from 
the spoken 
Latin 



In order to understand how it came about that two languages, 
the Latin and the native speech, were both commonly used in 
all the countries of western Europe all through the Middle Ages, 
we must glance at the origin of the modern languages. These 
all fall into two quite distinct groups, the Germanic and the 
Romance. 

Those German peoples who had continued to live outside of 
the Roman Empire, or who, during the invasions, had not set- 
tled far enough within its bounds to be led, as were the Franks 
in Gaul, to adopt the tongue of those they had conquered, natu- 
rally adhered to the language they had always used; namely, the 
particular Germanic dialect which their forefathers had spoken 
for untold generations. From the various languages used by the 
German barbarians, modern German, English, Dutch, Swedish, 
Norwegian, Danish, and Icelandic are derived. 

The second group of languages developed within the terri- 
tory which had formed a part of the Roman Empire, and 
includes modern French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. It 
has now been clearly proved, by a very minute study of the old 
forms of words, that these Romance languages were one and 
all derived from the spoken Latin, employed by the soldiers, 
merchants, and people at large. This differed considerably 
from the elaborate and elegant written Latin which was used, 
for example, by Cicero and Caesar. It was undoubtedly much 
simpler in its grammar and varied a good deal in different 
regions; a Gaul, for instance, could not pronounce the words 
like a Roman. Moreover, in conversation people did not always 
use the same words as those employed in books. For example, 
a horse was commonly spoken of as cabal lus, whereas a writer 
would use the word equus ; it is from caballus that the word 
for " horse " in Spanish, Italian, and French is derived (caballo, 
cavallo, ckeval). 

As time went on the spoken language diverged farther and 
farther from the written. Latin is a troublesome speech on 
account of its complicated inflections and grammatical rules, 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 241 

which can be mastered only after a great deal of study. The 
people of the more remote Roman provinces and the incoming 
barbarians naturally paid very little attention to the niceties of 
syntax and found easy ways of saying what they wished. 1 

Yet several centuries elapsed after the German invasions be- 
fore there was anything written in the language used in con- 
versation. So long as the uneducated could understand the 
correct Latin of the books when they heard it read or spoken, 
there was no necessity of writing anything in their familiar daily 
speech. But by the time Charlemagne came to the throne the 
gulf between the spoken and the written language had become 
so great that he advised that sermons should be given thereafter 
in the language of the people, who, apparently, could no longer 
follow the Latin. 

Although little was written in any German language before 
Charlemagne's time f there is no doubt that the Germans pos- 
sessed an unwritten literature, which was passed down by word 
of mouth for several centuries before any of it was written out. 

The oldest form of English is commonly called Anglo-Saxon Ancient 
and is so different from the language which we use that, in order Anglo-Saxon 
to be read, it must be learned like a foreign language. We hear 
of an English poet, as early as Bede's time, a century before 
Charlemagne. A manuscript of an Anglo-Saxon epic, called 
Beowulf has been preserved which belongs perhaps to the close 
of the eighth century. The interest which King Alfred displayed 
in the English language has already been mentioned. This old 
form of our language prevailed until after the Norman Con- 
quest ; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which does not close until 
1 154, is written in pure Anglo-Saxon. Here is an example : 

" Here on thissum geare Willelm cyng geaf Rodberde eorle 
thone eorldom on Nbrthymbraland. Da komon tha landes menn 

1 Even the monks and others who wrote Latin in the Middle Ages often did 
not know enough to follow strictly the rules of the language. Moreover, they 
introduced many new words to meet the new conditions and the needs of the 
time, such as imfirisonure, " to imprison " ; utlagare, " to outlaw " ; baptizare, 
" to baptize " ; foresta, " forest " ; feudum, " fief," etc. 



242 



Medieval and Modem Times 



An example 
of English 
in the 
thirteenth 
century 
(from A 
Metrical 
Version of 
Genesis) 



togeanes him & hine ofslogen, & ix hund manna mid him." 1 
In modern English this reads : " In this year King William 
gave the Earl Robert the earldom of Northumberland. Then 
came the men of the country against him and slew him, and 
nine hundred men with him." 

By the middle of the thirteenth century, two hundred years 
after the Norman Conquest, English begins to look somewhat 
familiar : 

And Aaron held up his hond 

To the water and the more lond ; 

Tho cam thor up schwilc froschkes here 

The dede al folc Egipte dere ; 

Summe woren wilde, and summe tame, 

And tho 'hem deden the moste schame ; 

In huse, in drinc, in metes, in bed, 

It cropen and maden hem for-dred. . . . 



Modernized 
version 



And Aaron held up his hand 

To the water and the greater land ; 

Then came there up such host of frogs 

That did all Egypt's folk harm ; 

Some were wild, and some were tame, 

And those caused them the most shame ; 

In house, in drink, in meats, in bed, 

They crept and made them in great dread. . . . 

Chaucer (about 13 40- 1400) was the first great English writer 
whose works are now read with pleasure, although one is some- 
times puzzled by his spelling and certain words which are no 
longer used. This is the way one of his tales opens : 

A poure wydow somdel stope in age, 
Was whilom dwellyng in a narwe cotage, 

1 In writing Anglo-Saxon two old letters are used for th, one (b) for the sound 
in " thin " and the other (ft) for that in " father." The use of these old letters 
serves to make the language look more different from that of to-day than it is. 



French 
romances 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 243 

Bisyde a grove, stondyng in a dale. 
This wydwe of wichh I telle yow my tale, 
Syn thilke day that sche was last a wif , 
In pacience ladde a ful symple lyf. 

In the Middle Ages, however, French, not English, was the 
most important of the national languages of western Europe. 
In France a vast literature was produced in the language of 
the people during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries which 
profoundly affected the books written in Italy, Spain, Germany, 
and England. 

Two quite different languages had gradually developed in French and 
France from the spoken Latin of the Roman Empire. To the roven S a 
north, French was spoken ; to the south, Provencal. 1 

Very little in the ancient French language written before the Medieval 
year 11 00 has been preserved. The West Franks undoubtedly 
began much earlier to sing of their heroes, of the great deeds 
of Clovis and Charles Martel. These famous rulers were, how- 
ever, completely overshadowed later by Charlemagne, who be- 
came the unrivaled hero of medieval poetry and romance. It 
was believed that he had reigned for a hundred and twenty-five 
years, and the most marvelous exploits were attributed to him 
and his knights. He was supposed, for instance, to have led a 
crusade to Jerusalem. Such themes as these — more legend 
than history — were woven into long epics, which were the first 
written literature of the Frankish people. These poems, com- 
bined with the stories of adventure, developed a spirit of patriotic 
enthusiasm among the French which made them regard "fair 
France " as the especial care of Providence. 

The famous Song of Roland, the chief character of which 
was one of Charlemagne's captains, was written before the First 

1 Of course there was no sharp line of demarcation between the people who 
used the one language or the other, nor was Provencal confined to southern 
France. The language of Catalonia, beyond the Pyrenees, was essentially the 
same as that of Provence. French was called langite cPdil, and the southern 
language langue d'oc, each after the word used for "yes." 



244 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Romances of 
King Arthur 
and the 
Knights of 
the Round 
Table 



The fabliaux 
and the 
fables 



Crusade. In the latter part of the twelfth century the romances 
of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table begin to 
appear. These enjoyed great popularity in all western Europe 
for centuries, and they are by no means forgotten yet. Arthur, 
of whose historical existence no one can be quite sure, was 
supposed to have been king of Britain shortly after the Saxons 
gained a foothold in the island. 1 

In other long poems of the time, Alexander the Great, Caesar, 
and other ancient worthies appear as heroes. The absolute dis- 
regard of historical facts and the tendency to represent the 
warriors of Troy and Rome as medieval knights show the in- 
ability of the medieval mind to understand that the past could 
have been different from the present. All these romances are 
full of picturesque adventures and present a vivid picture of the 
valor and loyalty of the true knight, as well as of his ruthlessness 
and contempt for human life. 

Besides the long and elaborate epics, like Roland, and the 
romances in verse and prose, there were numberless short stories 
in verse (the fabliaux), which usually dealt with the incidents 
of everyday life, especially with the comical ones. Then there 
were the fables, the most famous of which are the stories of 
Reynard the Fox, which were satires upon the customs of the 
time, particularly the weaknesses of the priests and monks. 



The Troubadours and Chivalry 



The trou- 
badours 



48. Turning now to southern France, the beautiful songs of 
the troubadours, which were the glory of the Provencal tongue, 
reveal a gay and polished society at the courts of the numerous 
feudal princes. The rulers not merely protected and encouraged 
the poets — they aspired to be poets themselves and to enter the 
ranks of the troubadours, as the composers of these elegant 



1 Malory's Mort d 1 Arthur, a collection of the stories of the Round Table 
made in the fifteenth century for English readers, is the best place to turn for 
these famous stories. 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 245 

verses were called. These songs were always sung to an accom- 
paniment on some instrument, usually the lute. The troubadours 
traveled from court to court, not only in France, but north into 
Germany and south into Italy, carrying with them the southern 
French poetry and customs. We have few examples of Provencal 
before the year 11 00, but from that time on, for two centuries, 
countless songs were written, and many of the troubadours en- 
joyed an international reputation. The terrible Albigensian cru- 
sade brought misery and death into the sprightly circles which 
had gathered about the Count of Toulouse and other rulers who 
had treated the heretics too leniently. 

For the student of history, the chief interest of the long poems Chivalry 
of northern France and the songs of the South lies in the in- 
sight that they give into the life and aspirations of this feudal 
period. These are usually summed up in the term chivalry, or 
knighthood, of which a word may properly be said here, since 
we should know little of it were it not for the literature of which 
we have been speaking. The knights play the chief role in 
all the medieval romances ; and, since many of the troubadours 
belonged to the knightly class, they naturally have much to say 
of it in their songs. 

Chivalry was not a formal institution established at any par- 
ticular moment. Like feudalism, with which it was closely con- 
nected, it had no founder, but appeared spontaneously throughout 
western Europe to meet the needs and desires of the period. 
When the youth of good family had been carefully trained to 
ride his horse, use his sword, and manage his hawk in the hunt, 
he was made a knight by a ceremony in which the Church 
took part, although the knighthood was actually conferred by 
an older knight. 

The knight was a Christian soldier, and he and his fellows Nature of 
were supposed to form, in a way, a separate order, with high order" 
ideals of the conduct befitting their class. Knighthood was 
not, however, membership in an association with officers and a 
definite constitution. It was an ideal, half-imaginary society 



246 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The ideals of 
the knight 



The German 
minne- 
singers 



— a society to which even those who enjoyed the title of king 
or duke were proud to belong. One was not born a knight as 
he might be born a duke or count, and could become one only 
through the ceremony mentioned above. Although most knights 
belonged to the nobility, one might be a noble and still not 
belong to the knightly order, and, on the other hand, one who 
was baseborn might be raised to knighthood on account of some 
valorous deed. 

The knight must, in the first place, be a Christian and must 
obey and defend the Church on all occasions. He must respect 
all forms of weakness and defend the helpless wherever he 
might find them. He must fight the infidel Mohammedans 
ceaselessly, pitilessly, and never give way before the enemy. 
He must perform all his feudal duties, be faithful in all things 
to his lord, never lie or violate his plighted word. He must be 
generous and give freely and ungrudgingly to the needy. He 
must be faithful to his lady and be ready to defend her and 
her honor at all costs. Everywhere he must be the champion 
of the right against injustice and oppression. In short, chivalry 
was the Christianized profession of arms. 

In the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round 
Table there is a beautiful picture of the ideal knight. The dead 
Lancelot is addressed by one of his sorrowing companions as 
follows : " Thou wert the courtliest knight that ever bare shield, 
and thou wert the truest friend to thy lover that ever bestrode 
horse, and thou wert the truest lover among sinful men that ever 
loved woman, and thou wert the kindest man that ever struck 
with sword, and thou wert the goodliest person that ever came 
among the crowd of knights, and thou wert the meekest man 
and the gentlest that ever ate in hall among ladies, and thou 
wert the sternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear 
in breast." 

The Germans also made their contribution to the literature 
of chivalry. The German poets of the thirteenth century are 
called minnesingers. Like the troubadours, whom they greatly 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 247 

admired, they usually sang of love, hence their name (German, Walther 

Minne). The most famous of the minnesingers was Walther voeeiweide 

von der Vogelweide (d. about 1228), whose songs are full of 

charm and of enthusiasm for his German fatherland. Wolfram 

von Eschenbach (d. about 1225) in his story of Parsifal gives 

the long and sad adventures of a knight in search of the Holy 

Grail — the sacred vessel which had held the blood of Christ, 

which only a person perfectly pure in thought, word, and deed 

could hope to behold. 

Medieval Science 

49. So long as all books had to be copied by hand, there were, 
of course, but few of them compared with those of modern times. 
The literature of which we have been speaking was not in general 
read, but was only listened to, as it was sung or recited by 
those who made it their profession. Wherever the wandering 
troubadour or minnesinger appeared he was sure of a delighted 
audience for his songs and stories, both serious and light. 
People unfamiliar with Latin could, however, learn little of the General 
past, for there were no translations of the great classics of oftoTpast 
Greece and Rome, of Homer, Plato, Cicero, or Livy. All that 
they could, know of ancient history was derived from the fan- 
tastic romances referred to above, which had for their theme 
the quite preposterous deeds ascribed to Alexander the Great 
^Eneas, and Caesar. As for their own history, the epics relating 
to the earlier course of events in France and the rest of Europe 
were hopelessly confused. For example, the writers attributed 
to Charlemagne a great part of the acts of the Frankish kings 
from Clovis to Pippin. 

Of what we should call scientific books there were practically Medieval 
none. It is true that there was a kind of encyclopedia in verse science 
which gave a great deal of misinformation about things in general. 
Every one continued to believe, as the Greeks and Romans had 
done, in strange animals like the unicorn, the dragon, and the 



248 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The 

salamander 



Medieval 
idea of the 
eagle's habits 



Moral 
lessons 
derived from 
the habits 
of animals 



phenix, and in still stranger habits of real animals. A single 
example will suffice to show what passed for zoology in the 
thirteenth century. 

" There is a little beast made like a lizard and such is its 
nature that it will extinguish fire should it fall into it. The beast 
is so cold and of such a quality that fire is not able to burn it, 
nor will trouble happen in the place where it shall be." This 
beast signifies the holy man who lives by faith, who " will never 
have hurt from fire nor will hell burn him. . . . This beast we 
name also by another name, salamander. It is accustomed to 
mount into apple-trees, poisons the apples, and in a well where 
it falls it poisons the water." 

" The eagle [we are told by a learned writer of the time 
of Henry II], on account of its great heat, mixeth very cold 
stones with its eggs when it sitteth on them, so that the heat 
shall not destroy them. In the same way our words, when we 
speak with undue heat, should later be tempered with discretion, 
so that we may conciliate in the end those whom we offended 
by the beginning of our speech." 

It will be noticed that the habits of the animals were sup- 
posed to have some moral or religious meaning and carry with 
them a lesson for mankind. It may be added that this and 
similar stories were centuries old and are found in the encyclo- 
pedias of the Romans. The most improbable things were re- 
peated from generation to generation without its occurring to 
any one to inquire if there was any truth in them. Even the most 
learned men of the time believed in astrology and in the miracu- 
lous virtues of herbs and gems. For instance, Albertus Magnus, 
one of the most distinguished thinkers of the thirteenth century, 
says that a sapphire will drive away boils and that the diamond 
can be softened in the blood of a stag, which will work best if 
the stag has been fed on wine and parsley. 

From the Roman and early Christian writers the Middle Ages 
got the idea of strange races of men and manlike creatures of 
various kinds. We find the following in an encyclopedia of the 



Books mid Science in the Middle Ages 249 

thirteenth century : " Satyrs be somewhat like men, and have strange 
crooked noses, and horns in the forehead, and are like to goats JJeations 
in their feet. St. Anthony saw such an one in the wilderness. ... and races 

J of men 

These wonderful beasts be divers ; for some of them be called 
Cynocephali, for they have heads as hounds, and seem beasts 
rather than men ; and some be called Cyclops, and have that 
name because each of them hath but one eye, and that in the 
middle of the forehead ; and some be all headless and noseless 
and their eyes be in the shoulders ; and some have plain faces 
without nostrils, and the nether lips of them stretch so that they 
veil therewith their faces when they be in the heat of the sun. 
Also in Scythia be some with so great and large ears, that they 
spread their ears and cover all their bodies with them, and these 
be called Panchios. ..." 

"And others there be in Ethiopia, and each of them have only 
one foot, so great and so large that they beshadow themselves 
with the foot when they lie gasping on the ground in strong 
heat of the sun ; and yet they be so swift that they be likened 
to hounds in swiftness of running, and therefore among the 
Greeks they be called Cynopodes. Also some have the soles 
of their feet turned backward behind the legs, and in each 
foot eight toes, and such go about and stare in the desert 
of Lybia." 

Two old subjects of study were revived and received great 
attention in Europe from the thirteenth century onwards until 
recent times. These were astrology and alchemy. 

Astrology was based on the belief that the planets influence the Astrology 
make-up of men and consequently their fate. Following an idea 
of the Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle, it was believed 
that all things were compounded of " the four elements " earth, 
air, fire, and water. Each person was a particular mixture of these 
four elements, and the position of the planets at the time of his 
birth was supposed to influence his mixture or "temperament." 

By knowing a person's temperament one could judge what he 
ought to do in order to be successful in life, and what he should 



250 Medieval and Modern Times 

avoid. For example, if one were born under the influence of 
Venus he should be on his guard against violent love and should 
choose for a trade something connected with dress or adornment ; 
if he were born under Mars he might make armor or horseshoes 
or become a successful soldier. Many common words are really 
astrological terms, such as " ill-starred," " disastrous," " jovial," 
" saturnine," " mercurial " (derived from the names of the 
planets). Astrology was taught in the universities because it 
was supposed to be necessary for physicians to choose times 
when the stars were favorable for particular kinds of medical 
treatment. 
Alchemy Alchemy was chemistry directed toward the discovery of a 

method of turning the baser metals, like lead and copper, into 
gold and silver. The alchemists, even if they did not succeed 
in their chief aim, learned a great deal incidentally in their 
laboratories, and finally our modern chemistry emerged from 
alchemy. Like astrology, alchemy goes back to ancient times, 
and the people of the thirteenth century got most of their ideas 
through the Mohammedans, who had in turn got theirs from 
the Greek books on the subjects. 

Medieval Universities and Studies 

50. All European countries now have excellent schools, col- 
leges, and universities. These had their beginning in the later 
Middle Ages. With the incoming of the barbarian Germans and 
the break-up of the Roman Empire, education largely disappeared 
and for hundreds of years there was nothing in western Europe, 
outside of Italy and Spain, corresponding to our universities and 
colleges. Some of the schools which the bishops and abbots 
had established in accordance with Charlemagne's commands 
(see above, p. 85) were, it is true, maintained all through the 
dark and disorderly times which followed his death. But the 
little that we know of the instruction offered in them would 
indicate that it was very elementary. 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 251 

About the year 11 00 an ardent young man named Abelard Abelard, 
started out from his home in Brittany to visit all the places ' II42 
where he might hope to receive instruction in logic and phi- 
losophy, in which, like all his learned contemporaries, he was 
especially interested. He reports that he found teachers in 
several of the French towns, particularly in Paris, who were 
attracting large numbers of students to listen to their lectures 
upon logic, rhetoric, and theology. Abelard soon showed his 
superiority to his teachers by defeating them several times in 
debate. So he began lecturing on his own account, and such 
was his success that thousands of students flocked to hear him. 

Abelard did not found the University of Paris, as has some- 
times been supposed, but he did a great deal to make the dis- 
cussions of theological problems popular, and by his attractive 
method of teaching he greatly increased the number of those 
who wished to study. 

Before the end of the twelfth century the teachers had be- Origin of the 
come so numerous in Paris that they formed a union, or guild, on^ST Y 
for the advancement of their interests. This union of professors 
was called by the usual name for corporations in the Middle 
Ages, universitas ; hence our word " university." The king and 
the pope both favored the university and granted the teachers 
and students many of the privileges of the clergy, a class to 
which they were regarded as belonging, because learning had 
for so many centuries been confined to the clergy. 

About the time that we find the beginnings of a university or study of the 
guild of professors at Paris, another great institution of learning canon^avv in 
was growing up at Bologna. Here the chief attention was given, Bol °g na 
not to theology, as at Paris, but to the study of the law, both 
Roman and church (canon) law. Students began to stream to 
Bologna in greater and greater numbers. In order to protect 
themselves in a town where they were regarded as strangers, 
they also organized themselves into unions, which became so 
powerful that they were able to force the professors to obey the 
rules which they laid down. 



252 Medieval and Modem Times 

Other uni- The University of Oxford was founded in the time of Henry II, 

founded probably by English students and masters who had become dis- 

contented at Paris for some reason. The University of Cambridge, 
as well as numerous universities in France, Italy, and Spain, 
were founded in the thirteenth century. The German universities, 
which are still so famous, were established somewhat later, most 
of them in the latter half of the fourteenth and in the fifteenth 
century. The northern institutions generally took the great 
mother university on the Seine as their model, while those in 
southern Europe usually adopted the methods of Bologna. 
The academic When, after some years of study, a student was examined 
by the professors, he was, if successful, admitted to the cor- 
poration of teachers and became a master himself. What we 
call a degree to-day was originally, in the medieval universi- 
ties, nothing more than the right to teach ; but in the thirteenth 
century many who did not care to become professors in our 
sense of the word began to desire the honorable title of master 
or doctor (which is only the Latin word for "teacher"). 1 
Simple The students in the medieval universities were of all ages, 

instruction from thirteen to forty, and even older. There were no univer- 
sity buildings, and in Paris the lectures were given in the Latin 
Quarter, in Straw Street, so called from the straw strewn on the 
floors of the hired rooms where the lecturer explained the text- 
book, with the students squatting on the floor before him. There 
were no laboratories, for there was no experimentation. All 
that was required was a copy of the textbook. This the lecturer 
explained sentence by sentence, and the students listened and 
sometimes took notes. 

The most striking peculiarity of the instruction in the medieval 
university was the supreme deference paid to Aristotle. Most 

1 The origin of the bachelor's degree, which comes at the end of our college 
course nowadays, may be explained as follows : The bachelor in the thirteenth 
century was a student who had passed part of his examinations in the course in 
" arts," as the college course was then called, and was permitted to teach certain 
elementary subjects before he became a full-fledged master. So the A.B. was 
inferior to the A.M. then as now. 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 253 

of the courses of lectures were devoted to the explanation of Aristotle's 
some one of his numerous treatises — his Physics, his Meta- become 
physics, his treatises on losdc, his Ethics, his minor works known in 

° the West 

upon the soul, heaven and earth, etc. Only his Logic had been 
known to Abelard, as all his other works had been forgotten. 
But early in the thirteenth century all his comprehensive con- 
tributions to science reached the West, either from Constantinople 
or through the Arabs, who had brought them to Spain. The 
Latin translations were bad and obscure, and the lecturer had 
enough to do to give some meaning to them, to explain what the 
Arab philosophers had said of them, and, finally, to reconcile 
them to the teachings of Christianity. 

Aristotle was, of course, a pagan. He was uncertain whether Veneration 
the soul continued to exist after death ; he had never heard of 
the Bible and knew nothing of the salvation of man through 
Christ. One would have supposed that he would have been 
promptly rejected with horror by the ardent Christian believers 
of the Middle Ages. But the teachers of the thirteenth cen- 
tury were fascinated by his logic and astonished at his learn- 
ing. The great theologians of the time, Albertus Magnus 
(d. 1280) and Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), did not hesitate to 
prepare elaborate commentaries upon all his works. He was 
called " The Philosopher " ; and so fully were scholars convinced 
that it had pleased God to permit Aristotle to say the last word 
upon each and every branch of knowledge that they humbly 
accepted him, along with the Bible, the church fathers, and the 
canon and Roman law, as one of the unquestioned authorities 
which together formed a complete guide for humanity in conduct 
and in every branch of science. 

The term " scholasticism " is commonly given to the beliefs and Scholas- 
method of discussion of the medieval professors. To those who 
later outgrew the fondness for logic and the supreme respect for 
Aristotle, scholasticism, with its neglect of Greek and Roman 
literature, came to seem an arid and profitless plan of education. 
Yet, if we turn over the pages of the wonderful works of 



254 



Medieval mid Modem Times 



Course of 
study 



Petrarch tries 
to learn 
Greek 



Chrysoloras 
begins to 
teach Greek* 
in Florence, 
*39 6 



Thomas Aquinas, we see that the scholastic philosopher might 
be a person of extraordinary insight and learning, ready to 
recognize all the objections to his position and able to express 
himself with great clearness and cogency. 1 The training in 
logic, if it did not increase the sum of human knowledge, 
accustomed the student to make careful distinctions and pre- 
sent his arguments in an orderly way. 

No attention was given to the great subject of history in the 
medieval universities, nor was Greek taught. Latin had to be 
learned in order to carry on the work at all, but little time was 
given to the Roman classics. The new modern languages were 
considered entirely unworthy of the learned. It must, of course, 
be remembered that none of the books which we consider the 
great classics in English, French, Italian, or Spanish had as yet 
been written. 

Although the medieval professors paid the greatest respect to 
the Greek philosopher Aristotle and made Latin translations of 
his works the basis of the college course, very few of them could 
read any Greek and none of them knew much about Homer or 
Plato or the Greek tragedians and historians. In the fourteenth 
century Petrarch (1304- 13 74) set the example in Italy of care- 
fully collecting all the writings of the Romans, which he greatly 
admired. He made an unsuccessful effort to learn Greek, for he 
found that Cicero and other Roman writers were constantly 
referring with enthusiasm to the Greek books to which they 
owed so much. 

Petrarch had not the patience or opportunity to master Greek, 
but twenty years after his death a learned Greek prelate from 
Constantinople, named Chrysoloras, came to Florence and found 
pupils eager to learn his language so that they could read the 
Greek books. Soon Italian scholars were going to Constanti- 
nople to carry on their studies, just as the Romans in Cicero's 
time had gone to Athens. They brought back copies of all the 

1 An example of the scholastic method of reasoning of Thomas Aquinas may 
be found in Translations and Reprints, Vol. Ill, No 6. 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 255 

ancient writers that they could find, and by 1430 Greek books Greek 
were once more known in the West, after a thousand years of bought"? 8 
neglect. Ital y 

In this way western Europe caught up with ancient times ; The 
scholars could once more know all that the Greeks and Romans Humanists 
had known and could read in the original the works of Homer, 
Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, and other 
philosophers, historians, orators, and tragedians. Those who 
devoted their lives to a study of the literature of Greece and 
Rome were called Humanists. The name is derived from the 
Latin word humanitas, which means " culture." In time the 
colleges gave up the exclusive study of Aristotle and substituted 
a study of the Greek and Latin literature, and in this way what 
is known as our " classical " course of study originated. 

Beginnings of Modern Inventions 

51. So long, however, as intellectual men confined them- 
selves to studying the old books of Greece and Rome they were 
not likely to advance beyond what the Greeks and Romans had 
known. In order to explain modern discoveries and inventions 
we have to take account of those who began to suspect that Aris- 
totle was ignorant and mistaken upon many important matters, 
and who set to work to examine things about them with the hope 
of finding out more than any one had ever known before. 

Even in the thirteenth century there were a few scholars who Roger 
criticized the habit of relying upon Aristotle for all knowledge. at ?ack on 
The most distinguished faultfinder was Roger Bacon, an English scholas- 
Franciscan monk (d. about 1290), who declared that even if 
Aristotle were very wise he had only planted the tree of knowl- 
edge and that this had " not as yet put forth all its branches nor 
produced all its fruits." " If we could continue to live for end- 
less centuries we mortals could never hope to reach full and 
complete knowledge of all the things which are to be known. 
No one knows enough of nature completely to describe the 



256 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Bacon 

foresees 

great 



Discoveries 
of the 
thirteenth 
century 



peculiarities of a single fly and give the reason for its color and 
why it has just so many feet, no more and no less." Bacon held 
that truth could be reached a hundred thousand times better by 
experiments with real things than by poring over the bad Latin 
translations of Aristotle. " If I had my way," he declared, " I 
should burn all the books of Aristotle, for the study of them can 
only lead to a loss of time, produce error and increase ignorance." 

Roger Bacon declared that if men would only study common 
things instead of reading the books of the ancients, science would 
outdo the wonders which people of his day thought could be 
produced by magic. He said that in time men would be able to 
fly, would have carriages which needed no horses to draw them 
and ships which would move swiftly without oars, and that 
bridges could be built without piers to support thern. 

All this and much more has come true, but inventors and 
modern scientists owe but little to the books of the Greeks and 
Romans, which the scholastic philosophers and the Humanists 
relied upon. Although the Greek philosophers devoted consider- 
able attention to natural science, they were not much inclined to 
make long and careful experiments or to invent anything like 
the microscope or telescope to help them. They knew very little 
indeed about the laws of nature and were sadly mistaken upon 
many points. Aristotle thought that the sun and all the stars 
revolved about the earth and that the heavenly bodies were per- 
fect and unchangeable. He believed that heavy bodies fell faster 
than light ones and that all earthly things were made of the four 
elements — earth, air, water, and fire. The Greeks and Romans 
knew nothing of the compass, or gunpowder, or the printing 
press, or the uses to which steam can be put. Indeed, they had 
scarcely anything that we should call a machine. 

The thirteenth century witnessed certain absolutely new 
achievements in the history of mankind. The compass began 
to be utilized in a way to encourage bolder and bolder ventures 
out upon the ocean (see above, section 46). The properties of 
the lens were discovered, and before the end of the century 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 



257 



spectacles are mentioned. The lens made the later telescope, 
microscope, spectroscope, and camera possible, upon which so 
much of our modern science depends. The Arabic numerals 
began to take the place of the awkward Roman system of 
using letters. One cannot well divide XLVIII by VIII, but he 
can easily divide 
48 by 8. Roger 
Bacon knew of the 
explosive nature 
of a compound of 
sulphur, saltpeter, 
and charcoal, and 
a generation after 
his death gunpow- 
der began to be 
used a little for 
guns and artillery. 
A document is still 
preserved referring 
to the making of 
brass cannon and 
balls in Florence 
in the year 1326. 
By 1350 powder 
works were in ex- 
istence in at least three German towns, and French and Eng- 
lish books refer now and then to its use. 

At least a hundred and fifty years elapsed, however, before 
gunpowder really began to supplant the old ways of fighting 
with bows and arrows and axes and lances. By the year 1500 
it was becoming clear that the old stone castles were insufficient 
protection against cannon, and a new type of unprotected castle 
began to be erected as residences of the kings and the nobility 
(see below, p. 276). Gunpowder has done away with armor, 
bows and arrows, spears and javelins, castles and walled towns. 



Arabic 
numerals 




Fig. 69. 



Effects of Cannon on a 
Medieval Castle 



258 



Medieval a?id Modern Times 



Advantages 
of printing 
with mova- 
ble type 



Excellent 
work of 
medieval 
copyists 



It may be that sometime some such fearfully destructive com- 
pound may be discovered, that the nations may decide to give 
up war altogether as too dangerous and terrible a thing to resort 
to under any circumstances. ^ 

The inventions of the compass, of the lens, and of gunpowder 
have helped to revolutionize the world. To these may be added 
the printing press, which has so facilitated and encouraged read- 
ing that it is nowadays rare to find anybody who cannot read. 

The Italian classical scholars of the fifteenth century suc- 
ceeded, as we have seen (pp. 254-255, above), in arousing a new 
interest in the books of the Greeks as well as of the Romans. 
They carefully collected every ancient work that they could lay 
hands on, made copies of it, edited it, and if it was in Greek, 
translated it into Latin. While they were in the midst of this 
work certain patient experimenters in Germany and Holland 
were turning their attention to a new way of multiplying books 
rapidly and cheaply by the use of lead type and a press. 

The Greeks and Romans and the people of the Middle Ages 
knew no other method of obtaining a new copy of a book 
except by writing it out laboriously by hand. The professional 
copyists were incredibly dexterous with their quills, as may be 
seen in Fig. 70 — a page from a Bible of the thirteenth cen- 
tury which is reproduced in its original size. 1 The letters are 

1 On pages 260 and 261 are reproductions, exactly the size of the original, of 
two pages in a manuscript Bible of the thirteenth century (in Latin) belonging to 
the library of Columbia University. The first of the two was chosen to illustrate 
the minuteness and perfection of the best work ; the second to show irregularities 
and mistakes due to negligence or lack of skill in the copyists. 

The first of the two pages is taken from 1 Maccabees i, 56-ii, 65 (a por- 
tion of the Scriptures not usually included in the Protestant Bibles). It begins, 
"... ditis fugitivorum locis. Die quintadecima mensis Caslev, quinto et quadra- 
gesimo et centesimo anno aedificavit rex Antiochus abominandum idolum desola- 
tionis super altare Dei ; et per universas civitates Juda in circitu aedificaverunt 
aras et ante januas domorum, et in plateis incendebant thura, et sacrificabant 
et libros legis Dei com[busserunt]." The scribes used a good many abbrevia- 
tions, as was the custom of the time, and what is transcribed here fills five lines 
of the manuscript. 

The second less perfect page here reproduced is from the prophet Amos, 
iii, 9-vii, 16. It begins, " vinearum vestrarum : oliveta vestra et ficeta vestra 
comedit eruca et non redistis ad me, dicit Dominus." 




Page from a Book of Hours, Fifteenth Century 

(Original Size) 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 259 

as clear, small, and almost as regular as if they had been printed, illuminated 
The whole volume containing the Old and New Testaments is manuscri P ts 
about the size of this book. After the scribe had finished his 
work the volume was often turned over to the illuminator, 
who would put in gay illuminated initials and sometimes page 
borders, which were delightful in design and color. 1 Books de- 
signed to be used in the church services were adorned with pic- 
tures as well as with ornamented initials and decorative borders. 
Plate VIII is a reproduction of a page from a Book of Hours 
in the library of Columbia University. It is the same size as the 
original. 

The written books were, in short, often both compact and Slow process 
beautiful, but they were never cheap or easily produced in byh°and mS 
great numbers. When Cosimo, the father of Lorenzo the 
Magnificent, wished to form a library just before the in- 
vention of printing, he applied to a contractor who engaged 
forty-five copyists. By working hard for nearly two years 
they were able to produce only two hundred volumes for the 
new library. 

Moreover, it was impossible before the invention of printing to Errors of 
have two copies of the same work exactly alike. Even with the 
greatest care a scribe could not avoid making some mistakes, and a 
careless copyist was sure to make a great many. The universi- 
ties required their students to report immediately any mistakes 
discovered in their textbooks, in order that the error might not 
be reproduced in another copy and so lead to a misunderstand- 
ing of the author. With the invention of printing it became 
possible to produce in a short time a great many copies of a 
given book which were exactly alike. Consequently, if suffi- 
cient care was taken to see that the types were properly set, 
the whole edition, not simply a single copy, might be relied 
upon as correct. 

1 The word " miniature," which is often applied to them, is derived from minium, 
that is, vermilion, which was one of the favorite colors. Later the word came to 
he applied to anything small. 



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Fig. 70. Page from a Copy of the Bible made in the Thirteenth 
Century, showing Perfection of the Best Work (see note p. 258) 

260 



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Fig. 71. Another Page from the Same Volume from which the 
Page opposite is taken, showing Imperfections and Mistakes of 

Poor Copyists 
261 



262 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Paper 

introduced 
in western 
Europe 



The earliest 

printed 

books 



After the supply of papyrus — the paper of the Egyptians, 
Greeks, and Romans — was cut off from Europe by the con- 
quest of Egypt by the Mohammedans the people of the Middle 
Ages used parchment, made from the skin of lambs 
and goats. This was so expensive that printing would 
have been of but little use, even if it had been thought 



Blfrmepraimo^rai^rteuttftaffraptralmttfo- 
Statuo ♦rubrirauanibuftp Cafhritmtr Diftinftue^ 

[flOinmnr one artifiriofa imprimmDi arrarattm^anDi: 

'abr^Dllaralami r f araro nr fir rtfigiauie - tr atl lauttm 

fciarfcnotefanttiprobirf^ 

Mmagutinu-rrjbriru!!^ 

Jluno Dnipllefimo tm4i^fp]p*0ie'mnifi6^ugiift^ 

Fig. 72. Closing Lines of the Psalter of 1459 
(Much reduced) 

The closing lines (that is, the so-called colophon) of the second edition of * 
the Psalter, which are here reproduced, are substantially the same as 
those of the first edition. They may be translated as follows : " The 
present volume of the Psalms, which is adorned with handsome capitals 
and is clearly divided by means of rubrics, was produced not by writing 
with a pen but by an ingenious invention of printed characters ; and 
was completed to the glory of God and the honor of St. James by John 
•Fust, a citizen of Mayence, and Peter Schoifher of Gernsheim, in the 
year of our Lord 1459, on the 29th of August " 

of, before paper was introduced into Europe by the Moham- 
medans. 1 Paper began to become common in the thirteenth 
and fourteenth centuries and was already replacing parchment 
before the invention of printing. 

The earliest book of any considerable size to be printed was 
the Bible, which appears to have been completed at Mayence in 
the year 1456. A year later the famous Mayence Psalter was fin- 
ished, the first dated book (Fig. 72). There are, however, earlier 

1 The Arabs seem to have derived their knowledge of paper-making from 
the Chinese. 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 



263 



examples of little books printed with engraved blocks and even 
with movable types. In the German towns, where the art spread 
rapidly, the printers adhered to the style of letters which the 
scribe had found it convenient to make with his quill — the so- 
called Gothic, or black letter. In Italy, however, where the first Black letter 
printing press was set up 
in 1466, a type was soon 
adopted which resembled 
the letters used in ancient 
Roman inscriptions. This 
was quite similar to the 
style of letter commonly 
used to-day. The Italians 
also invented the com- 
pressed italic type, which 
enabled them to get a 
great many words on a 
page. The early printers 
generally did their work 
conscientiously, and the 
very first book printed is 
in most respects as well 
done as any later book. 

By the year 1500, after 
printing had been used 
less than half a century, 
there appear to have been 
at least forty printing 
presses to be found in va- 
rious towns of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and 
England. These presses had, it is estimated, already printed 
eight millions of volumes. So there was no longer any danger 
of the old books being again lost, and the encouragement to 
write and publish new books was greatly increased. From 
that date our sources for history become far more voluminous 




Fig. 73. An Old-fashioned 
Printing Office 

Until the nineteenth century printing 
was carried on with vety little machin- 
ery. The type was inked by hand, 
then the paper laid on and the form 
slipped under a wooden press operated 
by hand by means of a lever 



264 



Medieval and Modem Times 



than those which exist for the previous history of the world ; 
we are much better informed in regard to events and con- 
ditions since 1500 than we ever can be respecting those of 
the earlier periods. 

The Art of the Renaissance 



Development 
of art in 
Italy 



Florence the 
art center 
of Italy 



Rome 

becomes the 
center of 
artistic 
activity 



52. We have already described briefly the work of the medi- 
eval architects and referred to the beautiful carvings that adorned 
the Gothic cathedrals and to the pictures of saints and angels 
in stained glass which filled the great church windows. But in 
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries art developed in a most 
astonishing manner in Italy and set new standards for all of 
western Europe. 

Florence was the great center of artistic activity during the 
fifteenth century. The greatest sculptors and almost all of the 
most famous painters and architects of the time either were 
natives of Florence or did their best work there. During the 
first half of the century sculpture again took the lead. The 
bronze doors of the baptistery at Florence by Ghiberti, which 
were completed in 1452, are among the finest products of 
Renaissance sculpture (see illustration). 1 

Florence reached the height of its preeminence as an art 
center during the reign of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was 
a devoted patron of all the arts. With his death (1492), this 
preeminence passed to Rome, which was fast becoming one of 
the great capitals of Europe. The art-loving popes, Julius II 
and Leo X, took pains to secure the services of the most dis- 
tinguished artists and architects of the time in the building and 
adornment of St. Peter's and the Vatican ; that is, the papal 
church and palace (see above, p. 231). 

1 Opposite the cathedral at Florence (Fig. 67) stands the ancient baptistery. 
Its northern bronze doors, with ten scenes from the Bible, surrounded by a very 
lovely border of foliage, birds, and animals, were completed by Lorenzo Ghiberti 
in 1452, after many years of labor. Michael Angelo declared them worthy to be 
the gates of heaven. 




Ghiberti's Doors at Florence 




Holy Family by Andrea del Sarto 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 265 

During the sixteenth century the art of the Renaissance Height of 
reached its highest development. Among all the great artists of ^™ lssance 
this period three stand out in heroic proportions — Leonardo da £ a 7 in , ci i 

r r r Michael 

Vinci, Michael Angelo, and Raphael. The first two not only Angelo, 
practiced, but achieved distinction in, the three arts of archi- 
tecture, sculpture, and painting. 1 It is impossible to give in a 
few lines any idea of the beauty and significance of the work of 
these great geniuses. Both Raphael and Michael Angelo left 
behind them so many and such magnificent frescoes and paint- 
ings, and in the case of Michael Angelo statues as well, that it 
is easy to appreciate their importance. Leonardo, on the other 
hand, left but little completed work. His influence on the art 
of his time, which was probably greater than that of either of 
the others, came from his many-sidedness, his originality, and 
his unflagging interest in the discovery and application of new 
methods. He was almost more experimenter than artist. 

While Florence could no longer boast of being the art center The Venetian 
of Italy, it still produced great artists, among whom Andrea del 
Sarto may be especially mentioned (see illustration). But the 
most important center of artistic activity outside of Rome in the 
sixteenth century was Venice. The distinguishing characteristic 
of the Venetian pictures is their glowing color. This is strik- Titian 
ingly exemplified in the paintings of Titian, the most famous, ^ I477 ~ 157 > 
of all the Venetian painters. 2 

It was natural that artists from the northern countries should Painting in 
be attracted by the renown of the Italian masters and, after Europe 
learning all that Italy could teach them, should return home to 
practice their art in their own particular fashion. About a century 
after painting began to develop in Italy two Flemish brothers, 
Van Eyck by name, showed that they were not only able to 
paint quite as excellent pictures as the Italians of their day, but 
they also discovered a new way of mixing their colors superior 
to that employed in Italy. Later, when painting had reached Durer 
its height in Italy, Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein the t I47I_I 5 2 ) 

1 Leonardo was engineer and inventor as well. 2 See Fig. 74. 



266 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Velasquez 



Younger 1 in Germany vied with even Raphael and Michael 
Angelo in the mastery of their art. Diirer is especially cele- 
brated for his wonderful woodcuts and copperplate engravings, 
in which field he has perhaps never been excelled. 2 

When, in the seventeenth century, painting had declined south 
of the Alps, Dutch and Flemish masters — above all, Rubens 
and Rembrandt — developed a new and admirable school of 
painting. To Van Dyck, another Flemish master, we owe many 
noble portraits of historically important persons. 3 Spain gave 
to the world in the seventeenth century a painter whom some 
would rank higher than even the greatest artists of Italy, namely, 
Velasquez (i 599-1 660). His genius, like that of Van Dyck, is 
especially conspicuous in his marvelous portraits. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 47. Why was Latin used by learned men, churchmen, 
scholars, and lawyers in the Middle Ages ? What is the origin of the 
Germanic-languages ? of the Romance tongues ? When does English 
become sufficiently modern for us to read it easily without special study? 
What is the character of the French romances of the Middle Ages ? 

Section 48. Who were the troubadours? Describe chivalry 
and the ideal knight. 

Section 49. Why did people know little of history in the Middle 
Ages ? Give some examples of the beliefs in regard to the habits of 
animals and the existence of strange races of men. What value was 
supposed to come from studying the habits of animals ? Define 
astrology. What words do we use that recall the beliefs of the 
Middle Ages in regard to the influence of the stars on man ? What 
was alchemy ? 

Section 50. Who was Abelard? What was a "university" 
originally? Mention some early universities. What was the origin 
of our degrees? What subjects were studied in a medieval univer- 
sity? Why was Aristotle so venerated by the medieval scholars? 
What was scholasticism ? How and when were Greek books again 
brought into western Europe? Who were the Humanists? Why did 
not the Humanists make any discoveries? 

1 See below, Fig. 78. 2 See below, Fig. 80. 3 See below, Figs. 96 and 98. 



Books and Science in the Middle Ages 267 

Section 5 1 . Why did Roger Bacon criticize the enthusiasm for 
Aristotle? What great inventions did he foresee? What great new 
discoveries were made in the thirteenth century? 

What effects did the introduction of gunpowder have? How were 
books made before the invention of printing? What are the dis- 
advantages of a book copied by hand? What is the earliest large 
printed book? How rapidly did printing spread? What do you 
consider the chief effects of the introduction of printing? 

Section 52. Say something of the chief artists of the Renais- 
sance in Italy and their work. Name some of the artists of the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who lived outside of Italy. 



CHAPTER XIII 



EMPEROR CHARLES V AND HIS VAST REALMS 



Emperor Maximilian and the Hapsburg Marriages 



53. In the year 1500 a baby was born in the town of 
Ghent who was destined before he reached the age of twenty 
to rule, as Emperor Charles V, over more of Europe than 
any one since Charlemagne. He owed his vast empire not 
to any conquests of his own but to an extraordinary series 
of royal marriages which made him heir to a great part of 
western Europe. These marriages had been arranged by his 
grandfather, Maximilian I, one of the most successful match- 
makers that ever lived. Maximilian belonged to the House 
of Hapsburg, and in order to understand European history 
since 1500 we must learn something of Maximilian and the 
Hapsburg line. 

The German kings had failed to create a strong kingdom 
such as those over which Louis XI of France and Henry VII 
of England ruled. Their fine title of emperor had made them 
a great deal of trouble and done them no good, as we have 
seen. 1 Their attempts to keep Italy as well as Germany under 
their rule, and the alliance of the mighty bishop of Rome with 
their enemies had well-nigh ruined them. Their position was 
further weakened by the fact that their office was not strictly 
hereditary. Although the emperors were often succeeded by 
their sons, each new emperor had to be elected, and those great 
vassals who controlled the election naturally took care to bind 
the candidate by solemn promises not to interfere with their 

1 See above, sections 16, 28-32. 
268 



Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 269 

privileges and independence. The result was that, after the 
downfall of the Hohenstaufens, Germany fell apart into a great 
number of practically independent states, of which none were 
very large and some were extremely small. 

After an interregnum, Rudolf of Hapsburg had been chosen Rudolf of 
emperor in 1273 (see above, p. 164), The original seat of the g/tsposTes- 
Hapsburgs, who were destined to play such a great part in s ™ n °. f 
European affairs, was in northern Switzerland, where the ves- 
tiges of their original castle may still be seen. Rudolf was the 
first prominent member of the family ; he established its posi- 
tion and influence by seizing the duchies of Austria and Styria, 
which became, under his successors, the nucleus of the extensive 
Austrian possessions. 

About a century and a half after the death of Rudolf the The imperial 

r* u i 1 j u -lu • ^i title becomes 

German pnnces began regularly to choose as their emperor the practically 
ruler of the Austrian possessions, so that the imperial title became, hereditary 

r ' r 'in the House 

to all intents and purposes, hereditary in the Hapsburg line, of Austria 
The Hapsburgs were, however, far more interested in adding 
to their family domains than in advancing the interests of the 
German Empire as a whole. Indeed, the Holy Roman Empire 
was nearly defunct and, in the memorable words of Voltaire, it 
had ceased to be either holy, or Roman, or an empire. 

Maximilian, while still a very young man, married Mary of 
Burgundy, the heiress to the Burgundian realms, which included 
what we now call Holland and Belgium and portions of eastern 
France. In this way the House of Austria got a hold on the 
shores of the North Sea. Mary died in 1482 and her lands were 
inherited by her infant son, Philip. Maximilian's next matri- 
monial move was to arrange a marriage between his son Philip 
and Joanna, the heiress to the Spanish kingdoms, and this 
makes it necessary for us to turn a moment to Spain, of 
which little or nothing has been said since we saw how the 
kingdom of the Visigoths was overthrown by the Mohammedan 
invaders, over seven hundred years before Maximilian's time 
(section 14). 



270 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Arab civiliza- 
tion in Spain 



The rise of 
new Chris- 
tian king- 
doms in 
Spain 



Granada and 
Castile 



The Mohammedan conquest served to make the history of 
Spain very different from that of the other states of Europe. 
One of its first and most important results was the conversion 
of a great part of the inhabitants to Mohammedanism. During 
the tenth century, which was so dark a period in the rest of 
Europe, the Arab civilization in Spain reached its highest de- 
velopment. The various elements in the population, Roman, 
Gothic, Arab, and Berber, appear to have been thoroughly 
amalgamated. Agriculture, industry, commerce, art, and the 
sciences made rapid progress. Cordova, with its half million 
of inhabitants, its stately palaces, its university, its three thou- 
sand mosques and three hundred public baths, was perhaps 
unrivaled at that period in the whole world. There were thou- 
sands of students at the University of Cordova at a time when, 
in the North, only clergymen had mastered even the simple 
arts of reading and writing. This brilliant civilization lasted, 
however, for hardly more than a hundred years. By the middle 
of the eleventh century the caliphate of Cordova had fallen to 
pieces, and shortly afterwards the country was overrun by new 
invaders from Africa. 

But the Christians were destined to reconquer the peninsula. 
As early as the year iooo 1 several small Christian kingdoms 
— Castile, Aragon, and Navarre — had come into existence in 
the northern part of Spain. Castile, in particular, began to push 
back the Mohammedans and, in 1085, reconquered Toledo from 
them. Aragon also widened its bounds by incorporating Barce- 
lona and conquering the territory watered by the Ebro. By 
1250 the long war of the Christians against the Mohammedans, 
which fills the medieval annals of Spain, had been so success- 
fully prosecuted that Castile extended to the south coast and 
included the great towns of Cordova and Seville. The Christian 
kingdom of Portugal was already as large as it is to-day. 

The Moors, as the Spanish Mohammedans were called, main- 
tained themselves for two centuries more in the mountainous 
1 See map above, p. 146. 



Emperor Charles V and his Vast. Realms 271 

kingdom of Granada, in the southern part of the peninsula. 
During this period Castile, which was the largest of the Spanish 
kingdoms and embraced all the central part of the peninsula, 
was too much occupied by internal feuds and struggles over 
the crown to wage successful war against the Moorish kingdom 
to the south. 

The first Spanish monarch whose name need be mentioned Marriage of 
here was Queen Isabella of Castile, who, in 1469, concluded cSfie^and 
an all-important marriage with Ferdinand, the heir of the crown Ferdinand of 
of Aragon. It is with this union of Castile and Aragon that 
the great importance of Spain in European history begins. For 
the next hundred years Spain was to enjoy more military power 
than any other European state. 

Ferdinand and Isabella undertook to complete the conquest Granada, the 
of the peninsula, and in 1492, after a long siege, the city of itrongholdf 
Granada fell into their hands, and therewith the last vestige of falls 
Moorish domination disappeared. 1 

In the same year that the conquest of the peninsula was com- Spain's in- 
pleted, the discoveries of Columbus, made under the auspices ^New™ 
of Queen Isabella, opened up sources of undreamed-of wealth ^} ° rlc J en " 

^- ; ables her to 

beyond the seas. The transient greatness of Spain in the six- become a 
teenth century is largely to be attributed to the riches which p0W er 
poured in from her American possessions. The shameless and 
cruel looting of the Mexican and Peruvian cities by Cortes and 
Pizarro (see above, p. 237), and the products of the silver mines 
of the New World, enabled Spain to assume, for a time, a posi- 
tion in Europe which her internal strength and normal resources 
would never have permitted. 

Unfortunately, the most industrious, skillful, and thrifty Persecution 
among the inhabitants of Spain, that is, the Moors and the Jews, and Moors 5 
who well-nigh supported the whole kingdom with the products 

1 No one can gaze upon the great castle and palace of the Alhambra, which 
was built for the Moorish kings, without realizing what a high degree of culture 
the Moors had attained. Its beautiful and impressive arcades, its magnificent 
courts, and the delicate tracery of its arches represent the highest achievement 
of Arabic architecture (see illustration, p. 71). 



272 Medieval and Modern Times 

The revival of their toil, were bitterly persecuted by the Christians. So 
sition nqU1 anxious was Isabella to rid her kingdom of the infidels that she 
revived the court of the Inquisition. 1 For several decades its 
tribunals arrested and condemned innumerable persons who 
were suspected of heresy, and thousands were burned at the 
stake during this period. These wholesale executions have 
served to associate Spain especially with the horrors of the 
Inquisition. Finally, in 1609, a century after Isabella's death, 
the Moors were driven out of the country altogether. The per- 
secution diminished or disheartened the most useful and enter- 
prising portion of the Spanish people, and permanently crippled 
the country. 

It was no wonder that the daughter and heiress of Ferdinand 
and Isabella seemed to Maximilian an admirable match for his 
son Philip. Philip died, however, in 1506, — six years after 
his eldest son Charles was born, — and his poor wife, Joanna, 
became insane with grief and was thus incapacitated for ruling. 
So Charles could look forward to an unprecedented accumula- 
tion of glorious titles as soon as his grandfathers, Maximilian 
of Austria and Ferdinand of Aragon, should pass away. 2 He 
was soon to be duke of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, 
count of Holland, archduke of Austria, count of Tyrol, king 
of Castile, Aragon, and Naples, 3 and of the vast Spanish 
possessions in America — to mention a few of his more 
important titles. 

1 See above, pp. 189-190. 

2 Austria Burgundy Castile Aragon Naples, etc. 

(America) 
Maximilian I = Mary (d. 1482), Isabella = Ferdinand (d. 15 16) 

(d. 1519) I dau. of Charles (d. 1504) I 

I the Bold (d. 1477) 
Philip (d. 1506) Joanna the Insane (d. 1555) 



Charles V (d. 1558) Ferdinand (d. 1564) = Anna, heiress to kingdoms 

Emperor, 1 5 19-15 56 Emperor, 15 56-1564 of Bohemia and Hungary 

3 Naples and Sicily were in the hands of the king of Aragon at this time 
(p. 165). 



Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 273 

Ferdinand died in 15 16, and Charles, now a lad of sixteen, Charles and 
who had been born and reared in the Netherlands, was much posSSons 
bewildered when he first landed in his Spanish dominions. The 
Burgundian advisers whom he brought with him were distasteful 




Fig. 74. Charles V at the Age of 48, by Titian 



to the haughty Spaniards, to whom, of course, they were for- 
eigners; suspicion and opposition awaited him in each of his 
several Spanish kingdoms, for he found by no means a united 
Spain. Each kingdom demanded special recognition of its rights 
and proposed important reforms before it would acknowledge 
Charles as its king. 



274 Medieval and Modern Times 

Charles It seemed as if the boy would have his hands full in assert- 

peror, 15 19 m g his authority as the first " king of Spain " ; nevertheless, a 
still more imposing title and still more perplexing responsibilities 
were to fall upon his shoulders before he was twenty years old. 
It had long been Maximilian's ambition that his grandson 
should succeed him upon the imperial throne. After his death, 
in 1 5 19, the electors finally chose Charles as emperor — the 
fifth of that name — instead of the rival candidate, Francis I 
of France. By this election the king of Spain, who had not yet 
been in Germany and who never learned its language, became 
its ruler at a critical juncture, when the teachings of Luther 
(see next chapter) were adding a new kind of trouble to the 
old disorders. 



How Italy became the Battleground of the 
European Powers 

54. In order to understand the Europe of Charles V and 
the constant wars which occupied him all his life, we must turn 
back and review the questions which had been engaging the 
attention of his fellow kings before he came to the throne. It 
is particularly necessary to see clearly how Italy had suddenly 
become the center of commotion — the battlefield for Spain, 
France, and Germany. 
Charles viii Charles VIII of France (1483-1498) possessed little of the 
invades Italy practical sagacity of his father, Louis XI (pp. 142-143). He 



dreamed of a mighty expedition against the Turks and of the 
conquest of Constantinople. As the first step he determined to 
lead an army into Italy and assert his claim, inherited from his 
father, to the kingdom of Naples, which was in the hands of 
the House of Aragon. 1 While Italy had everything to lose by 

1 It will be remembered that the popes, in their long struggle with Frederick II 
and the Hohenstaufens, finally called in Charles of Anjou, the brother of St Louis, 
and gave to him both Naples and Sicily (see above, pp. 162 ff.). Sicily revolted 
in 1282 and was united with the kingdom of Aragon, which still held it when 



Emperor Charles V mid his Vast Realms 275 

permitting a powerful foreign monarch to get a foothold in the 
South, there was no probability that the various little states 
into which the peninsula was divided would lay aside their 
animosities and combine against the invader. On the contrary, 
Charles VIII was urged by some of the Italians themselves 
to come. 

Had Lorenzo the Magnificent still been alive, he might have Savonarola 
organized a league to oppose the French king, but he had died yni 
in 1492, two years before -Charles started. Lorenzo's sons 
failed to maintain the influence over the people of Florence 
which their father had enjoyed ; and the leadership of the city 
fell into the hands of the Dominican friar, Savonarola, whose 
fervid preaching attracted and held for a time the attention of 
the fickle Florentine populace. He believed himself to be a 
prophet and proclaimed that God was about to scourge Italy 
for its iniquities. 

When Savonarola heard of the French invasion, it appeared Charles vill 
to him that this was indeed the looked-for scourge of God, 
which might afflict, but would also purify, the Church. As 
Charles approached Florence, the people rose in revolt against 
the Medici, sacked their palaces, and drove out the three sons 
of Lorenzo. Savonarola became the chief figure in the new 
republic which was established. 1 Charles was admitted into 
Florence, but his ugly, insignificant figure disappointed the 
Florentines. They soon made it clear to him that they did not 
regard him in any sense as a conqueror, and would oppose a 
prolonged occupation by the French. So, after a week's stay, 
the French army left Florence and proceeded on its southward 
journey. 

Charles V came to the Spanish throne. Naples also was conquered by the king 
of Aragon, and was in his family when Charles VIII undertook his Italian 
expedition. Louis XI, although he claimed the right of the French to rule in 
Naples, had prudently refused to attempt to oust the Aragonese usurpers, as he 
had quite enough to do at home. 

1 The fate of Savonarola was a tragic one. He lost the confidence of the 
Florentines and aroused the opposition of the pope. Three years after Charles 
VI IPs visit he was accused of heresy and executed. 



2?6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The next power with which Charles had to deal was the pope, 
who ruled over the states of the Church. The pope was greatly 
perturbed when he realized that the French army was upon 
him. He naturally dreaded to have a foreign power in control 
of southern Italy just as his predecessors had dreaded the efforts 
of the Hohehstaufen to add Naples to their empire. He was 
unable, however, to oppose the French and they proceeded on 
their way. 

The success of the French king seemed marvelous, for even 
Naples speedily fell into his hands. But he and his troops were 
demoralized by the wines and other pleasures of the South, and 
meanwhile his enemies at last began to form a combination 
against him. Ferdinand of Aragon was fearful lest he might 
lose Sicily, and Emperor Maximilian objected to having the 
French control Italy. Charles's situation became so dangerous 
that he may well have thought himself fortunate, at the close 
of 1495, t0 escape, with the loss of only a single battle, from 
the country he had hoped to conquer. 

The results of Charles VI IPs expedition appear at first sight 
trivial ; in reality they were momentous. In the first place, it 
was now clear to Europe that the Italians had no real national 
feeling, however much they might despise the " barbarians " 
who lived north of the Alps. From this time down to the 
latter half of the nineteenth century, Italy was dominated by 
foreign nations, especially Spain and Austria. In the second 
place, the French learned to admire the art and culture of Italy 
(section 52). The nobles began to change their feudal castles, 
which since the invention of gunpowder were no longer im- 
pregnable, into luxurious palaces and country houses. The new 
scholarship of Italy also took root, and flourished not only in 
France but in England and Germany as well, and Greek began 
to be studied outside of Italy. Consequently, just as Italy was 
becoming, politically, the victim of foreign aggressions, it was also 
losing, never to regain, that intellectual leadership which it had 
enjoyed since the revival of interest in Latin and Greek literature. 



Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 277 

It would be wearisome and unprofitable to follow the at- 
tempts of the French to get a foothold in Milan. Suffice it 
to say that Charles VIII soon died and that his successor 
Louis XII laid claim to the duchy of Milan in the north as well as 
to Naples in the south. But he concluded to sell his claim to 




Fig. 75. Francis I 

Naples to Ferdinand of Aragon and centered his attention on 
holding Milan, but did not succeed in his purpose, largely owing 
to the opposition of the Pope. 

Francis I, who came to the French throne in 1 5 1 5 at the age 
of twenty, is one of the most famous of the French kings. He 
was gracious and chivalrous in his ideas of conduct, and his 
proudest title was " the gentleman king." Like his contempo- 
raries, Pope Leo X, son of Lorenzo de' Medici, and Henry 
VIII of England, he helped artists and men of letters and 
was interested in fine buildings (Fig. 76). 



278 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Francis I 
in Italy 



Francis opened his reign by a very astonishing victory. He 
led his troops into Italy over a pass which had hitherto been 
regarded as impracticable for cavalry and defeated the Swiss 
— who were in the Pope's pay — at Marignano. He then 




Fig. 76. Court of the Palace at Blois 

The expedition of Charles VIII to Italy called the attention of French 
architects to the beautiful Renaissance style used there. As cannon 
had by this time begun to render the old kind of castles with thick 
walls and towers useless as a means of defense, the French kings 
began to construct magnificent palaces of which several still exist. 
Charles VIII's successor, Louis XII, began a handsome structure at 
Blois, on the Loire River, and Francis I added a wing, the inner side of 
which is here reproduced. Its magnificent open staircase and wide, high 
windows have little in common with the old donjons of feudal times 



The republic 
of Florence 
becomes the 
grand duchy 
of Tuscany 



occupied Milan and opened negotiations with Leo X, who was 
glad to make terms with the victorious young king. The pope 
agreed that Francis should retain Milan, and Francis on his 
part acceded to Leo's plan for turning over Florence once more 
to the Medici, of which family the pope himself was a member. 
This was done, and some years later this wonderful republic 



Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 279 

became the grand duchy of Tuscany, governed by a line of petty 
princes under whom its former glories were never renewed. 

Friendly relations existed at first between the two young Sources of 
sovereigns, Francis I and Charles V, but there were several between 
circumstances which led to an almost incessant series of wars Fn * nce 

and the 

between them. France was clamped in between the northern Hapsburgs 
and southern possessions of Charles, and had at that time no 
natural boundaries. Moreover, there was a standing dispute 
over portions of the Burgundian realms, for both Charles and 
Francis claimed the duchy of Burgundy and also the neighboring 
county of Burgundy — commonly called PYanche-Comte (see ac- 
companying map). Charles also believed that, through his grand- 
father, Maximilian, he was entitled to Milan, which the French 
kings had set their hearts upon retaining. For a generation the 
rivals fought over these and other matters, and the wars be- 
tween Charles and Francis were but the prelude to a conflict 
lasting over two centuries between France and the overgrown 
power of the House of Hapsburg. 

In the impending struggle it was natural that both monarchs Henry viii 
should try to gain the aid of the king of England, whose friend- 1509^547 ' 
ship was of the greatest importance to each of them, and who 
was by no means loath to take a hand in European affairs. 
Henry VIII had succeeded his father, Henry VII, in 1509 
at the age of eighteen. Like Francis, he was good-looking and 
graceful, and in his early years made a very happy impression 
upon those who came in contact with him. He gained much 
popularity by condemning to death the two men who had been 
most active in extorting the " benevolences " which his father 
had been wont to require of unwilling givers. With a small but 
important class, his learning brought him credit. He married, 
for his first wife, an aunt of Charles V, Catherine of Aragon, 
and chose as his chief adviser Thomas Wolsey, whose career 
and sudden downfall were to be strangely associated with the 
fate of the unfortunate Spanish princess. 1 
1 See below, pp. 315-317. 



28o 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Charles V 
goes to 

Germany 



In 1520 Charles V started for Germany to receive the 
imperial crown at Aix-la-Chapelle. On his way he landed in 
England with the purpose of keeping Henry from forming an 
alliance with Francis. He judged the best means to be that 
of freely bribing Wolsey, who had been made a cardinal by 
Leo X, and who was all-powerful with Henry. Charles there- 
fore bestowed on the cardinal a large annuity in addition to 
one which he had granted him somewhat earlier. He then set 
sail for the Netherlands, where he was duly crowned king of 
the Romans. From there he proceeded, for the first time, to 
Germany, where he summoned his first diet at Worms. 



Condition of Germany when Charles V 
became Emperor 



Germany of 
to-day 



Weakness of 
the Emperor 



55. To us to-day, Germany means the German Empire, one 
of the three or four best organized and most powerful of the 
European states. It is a compact federation, somewhat like 
that of the United States, made up of twenty-two monarchies 
and three little city-republics. Each member of the union man- 
ages its local affairs, but leaves all questions of national impor- 
tance to be settled by the central government at Berlin. This 
federation is, however, less than half a century old. 

In the time of Charles V there was no such Germany as this, 
but only what the French called the " Germanies " ; that is, two 
or three hundred states, which differed greatly from one another 
in size and character. This one had a duke, that a count, at its 
head, while others were ruled over by archbishops, bishops, or 
abbots. There were many cities, like Nuremberg, Frankfort, and 
Cologne, which were just as independent as the great duchies 
of Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, and Saxony. Lastly there were the 
knights, whose possessions might consist of no more than a 
single strong castle with a wretched village lying at its foot. 

As for the emperor, he no longer had any power to control 
his vassals. He could boast of unlimited pretensions and great 



Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 281 



traditions, but he had neither money nor soldiers. At the time 
of Luther's birth the poverty-stricken Frederick III (Maxi- 
milian's father) might have been seen picking up a free meal 
at a monastery or 
riding behind a slow 
but economical ox 
team. The real 
power in Germany 
lay in the hands of 
the more important 
vassals. 

First and fore- 
most among these 
seven electors, so 










were the 
called be- 
cause, since the thirteenth cen- 
tury, they had enjoyed the 
right to elect the emperor. 
Three of them were arch- 
bishops — kings in all but 
name of considerable terri- 
tories on the Rhine, namely, 
the electorates of Mayence, 
Treves, and Cologne. Near 
them, to the south, was the 
region ruled over by the elector 
of the Palatinate ; to the 
northeast were the territories 
of the electors of Brandenburg 
and of Saxony ; the king of 
Bohemia made the seventh of 
the group. 

Beside these states, the do- 
minions of other rulers scarcely less important than the electors 
appear on the map. Some of these territories, like Wurtemberg, 
Bavaria, Hesse, and Baden, are familiar to us to-day as members 



Fig. 77. The Walls of 
rothenburg 

One town in Germany, Rothen- 
burg, on the little river Tauber, 
once a free imperial city, retains 
its old walls and towers intact and 
many of its old houses. It gives 
the visitor an excellent idea of how 
the smaller imperial towns looked 
two or three hundred years ago 



282 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The towns 



No central 
power to 
maintain 
order 



Neighbor- 
hood war 



of the present German Empire, but all of them have been much 
enlarged since the sixteenth century by the absorption of the 
little states that formerly lay within and about them. 

The towns, which had grown up since the great economic 
revolution that had brought in commerce and the use of money 
in the thirteenth century, were centers of culture in the north of 
Europe, just as those of Italy were in the south. Nuremberg, 
the most beautiful of the German cities, still possesses a great 
many of the extraordinary buildings and works of art which it 
produced in the sixteenth century. Some of the towns were 
immediate vassals- of the emperor and were consequently in- 
dependent of the particular prince within whose territory they 
were situated. These were called free, or imperial, cities and 
must be reckoned among the states of Germany (Fig. 77). 

The knights, who ruled over the smallest of the German 
territories, had earlier formed a very important class, but the 
introduction of gunpowder and new methods of fighting put 
them at a disadvantage, for they clung to their medieval tra- 
ditions. Their tiny realms were often too small to support them, 
and they frequently turned to robbery for a living and proved a 
great nuisance to the merchants and townspeople whom they 
plundered now and then. 

It is clear that these states, little and big, all tangled up with 
one another, would be sure to have disputes among themselves 
which would have to be settled in some way. The emperor was 
not powerful enough to keep order, and the result was that each 
ruler had to defend himself if attacked. Neighborhood war was 
permitted by law if only some courteous preliminaries were 
observed. For instance, a prince or town was required to 
give warning three days in advance before attacking another 
member of the Empire (see above, section 22). 

Germany had a national assembly, called the diet, which met 
at irregular intervals, now in one town and now in another, for 
Germany had no capital city. The towns were not permitted 
to send delegates until 1487, long after the townspeople were 



Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 283 

represented in France and England. The restless knights and 
other minor nobles were not represented at all and consequently 
did not always consider the decisions of the diet binding 
upon them. 

It was this diet that Charles V summoned to meet him on the 
Rhine, in the ancient town of Worms, when he made his first 
visit to Germany in 1520. The most important business of the 
assembly proved to be the consideration of the case of a uni- 
versity professor, Martin Luther, who was accused of writing 
heretical books, and who had in reality begun what proved to 
be the first successful revolt against the seemingly all-powerful 
Medieval Church. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 53. When and how did the House of Hapsburg become 
important? What marriages were arranged by Maximilian I which 
affected the history of Europe ? How did Spain become a powerful 
kingdom? Over what countries did Ferdinand and Isabella rule? 
What was the extent of Charles V's dominions? 

Section 54. Describe the Italian expedition of Charles VIII. 
What were its results? What were the causes of trouble between 
the French kings and the Hapsburgs? What are your impressions 
of Francis I ? of Henry VIII ? 

Section 55. Contrast Germany in Charles V's time with the 
German Empire of to-day. Who were the knights ? the electors ? 
W T hat was the German diet ? Why was the emperor unable to 
maintain order in Germany ? 



CHAPTER XIV 

MARTIN LUTHER AND THE REVOLT OF GERMANY 
AGAINST THE PAPACY 

The Question of Reforming the Church : 
Erasmus 



Break-up of 
the Medieval 
Church 



Europe 
divided into 

Catholic and 

Protestant 

countries 



Sources of 
discontent 
with the 
Church, 
especially in 
Germany 



56. By far the most important event during the reign of 
Charles V was the revolt of a considerable portion of western 
Europe against the popes. The Medieval Church, which was 
described in a previous chapter, was in this way broken up, and 
Protestant churches appeared in various European countries 
which declared themselves entirely independent of the pope 
and rejected a number of the religious beliefs which the Church 
had held previously. 

With the exception of England all those countries that lay 
within the ancient bounds of the Roman Empire — Italy, 
France, Spain, Portugal, as well as southern Germany and 
Austria — continued to be faithful to the pope and the Roman 
Catholic Church. On the other hand, the rulers of the northern 
German states, of England, Holland, Denmark, Norway, and 
Sweden, sooner or later became Protestants. In this way 
Europe was divided into two great religious parties, and this 
led to terrible wars and cruel persecutions which fill the annals 
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 

The revolt began in Germany. The Germans, while good 
Catholics, were suspicious of the popes, whom they regarded as 
Italians, bent upon getting as much money as possible out of 
the simple people north of the Alps. The revenue flowing to 
the popes from Germany was very large. The great German 
prelates, like the archbishops of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne, 

284 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 285 

were each expected to contribute no less than ten thousand 
gold guldens to the papal treasury upon having their election 
confirmed by the church authorities at Rome. The pope en- 
joyed the right to fill many important church offices in Germany, 
and frequently appointed Italians, who., drew the revenue with- 
out performing the duties attached to the office. A single per- 
son frequently held several church offices. For example, early 
in the sixteenth century, the archbishop of Mayence was at the 
same time archbishop of Magdeburg and bishop of Halberstadt. 
There were instances in which a single person had accumulated 
over a score of benefices. 

It is impossible to exaggerate the impression of widespread 
discontent with the condition of the Church which one meets 
in the writings of the early sixteenth century. The whole Ger- 
man people, from the rulers down to the humblest tiller of the 
fields, felt themselves unjustly used. The clergy were denounced 
as both immoral and inefficient. While the begging friars — the 
Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians * — were scorned 
by many, they, rather than the ordinary priests, appear to have 
carried on the real religious work. 

At first, however, no one thought of withdrawing from the 
Church or of attempting to destroy the power of the pope. All 
that the Germans wanted was that the money which flowed 
toward Rome should be kept at home, and that the clergy 
should be upright, earnest men who should conscientiously 
perform their religious duties. 

Among the critics of the Church in the early days of Charles V's Erasmus, 
reign the most famous and influential was Erasmus. He was 
a Dutchman by birth, but spent his life in various other coun- 
tries — France, England, Italy, and Germany. He was a citizen 
of the world and in correspondence with literary men every- 
where, so that his letters give us an excellent idea of the 
feeling of the times. He was greatly interested in the Greek 

1 The Augustinian order, to which Luther belonged, was organized in the 
thirteenth century, a little later than the Dominican and the Franciscan. 



1465-15 36 



286 Medieval and Modern Times 

and Latin authors, but his main purpose in life was to better 
the Church. He was well aware of the bad reputation of many 
of the clergymen of the time and he especially disliked the 




Fig. 78. Portrait of Erasmus, by Holbein 

This wonderful picture by Hans Holbein the Younger (1 497-1 543) 
hangs in the Louvre gallery at Paris. We have every reason to suppose 
that it is an excellent portrait, for Holbein lived in Basel a considerable 
part of his life and knew Erasmus well. The artist was, moreover, 
celebrated for his skill in catching the likeness when depicting the 
human face. He later painted several well-known Englishmen, including 
Henry VIII and his little son Edward VI (see Fig. 83) 

monks, for when he was a boy he had been forced into a 
monastery, much against his will. 

It seemed to Erasmus that if everybody could read the 
Bible, especially the New Testament, for himself, it would bring 
about a great change for the better. He wanted to have the 
Gospels and the letters of Paul translated into the language 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 287 

of the people so that men and women who did not know Latin 
could read them and be helped by them. 

Erasmus believed that the two arch enemies of true religion Erasmus' 
were (1) paganism, into which many of the more enthusiastic religion™ 
Italian Humanists fell in their admiration for the Greek and Latin 
writers ; and (2) the popular confidence in outward acts and 
ceremonies, like visiting the graves of saints, the mere repetition 
of prayers, and so forth. He claimed that the Church had be- 
come careless and had permitted the simple teachings of Christ 
to be buried under myriads of dogmas introduced by the theo- 
logians. " The essence of our religion," he says, " is peace and 
harmony. These can only exist where there are few dogmas and 
each individual is left to form his own opinion upon many matters." 

In a little book called The Praise of Folly, Erasmus has much in his Praise 
to say of the weaknesses of the monks and theologians, and of Erasmus 
the foolish people who thought that religion consisted simply in att .^s the 
pilgrimages, the worship of relics, and the procuring of indul- Church 
gences. Scarcely one of the abuses which Luther later attacked 
escaped Erasmus' pen. The book is a mixture of the lightest 
humor and the bitterest earnestness. As one turns its pages 
one is sometimes tempted to think Luther half right when he 
declared Erasmus " a regular jester who makes sport of every- 
thing, even of religion and Christ himself." 

Yet there was in this humorist a deep seriousness that cannot 
be ignored. Erasmus believed, however, that revolt from the 
pope and the Church would produce a great disturbance and 
result in more harm than good. He preferred to trust in the 
slower but surer effects of education and knowledge. Supersti- 
tions and the undue regard for the outward forms of religion 
would, he argued, be outgrown and quietly disappear as man- 
kind became more cultivated. 

He believed, moreover, that the time was favorable for reform. Erasmus 
As he looked about him he beheld intelligent rulers on the timeslavor^ 
thrones of Europe, men interested in books and art and ready ^ e for 
to help scholars and writers. There was Henry VIII of England 



288 



Medieval and Modern Times 



and Francis I of France. Then the pope himself, Leo X, the 
son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was a friend and admirer of 
Erasmus and doubtless sympathized with many of his views. 
The youthful Charles V had advisers who believed Erasmus to 
be quite right and were ready to work toward a reform of the 
Church. Charles was a devout Catholic, but he too agreed that 
there were many evils to be remedied. So it seemed to Erasmus 
that the prospects were excellent for a peaceful reform ; but, in- 
stead of its coming, his latter years were embittered by Luther's 
revolt and all the ill-feelings and dissensions that it created. 

How Martin Luther revolted against the 
Papacy 



Early years 
of Luther 



Luther 
becomes a 
professor 



Luther 

discards 

Aristotle 



57. Martin Luther was born in 1483. He was the son of a 
poor miner, and he often spoke in later life of the poverty and 
superstition in which his boyhood was spent. His father, how- 
ever, was determined that his son should be a lawyer, and so 
Martin was sent to the University of Erfurt. After he finished his 
college course and was about to take up the study of the law 
he suddenly decided to become a monk. He summoned his 
college friends for a last evening together, and the next morn- 
ing he led them to the gate of a monastery, bade them and the 
world farewell, and became a begging friar. 

He was much worried about his soul and feared that nothing 
he could do would save him from hell. He finally found comfort 
in the thought that in order to be saved he had only to believe 
sincerely that God would save him, and that he could not 
possibly save himself by trying to be good. He gained the re- 
spect of the head of the monastery, and when Frederick the Wise 
of Saxony (Fig. 80) was looking about for teachers in his new 
university at Wittenberg, Luther was recommended as a good 
person to teach Aristotle ; so he became a professor. 

As time went on Luther began to be suspicious of some of 
the things that were taught in the university. He finally decided 




AbTHERNA IRSE SVAE MEMT1S SlAWLAOfRi IVTHERyS 
tjXSWAXT-AX WIXVS CERA LVCAE OCCIDVOS 
-AVID XOC j&* 



Fig. 79. Luther as a Monk, by Cranach, 1520 

None of the portraits of Luther are very satisfactory. His friend 
Cranach was not, like Holbein the Younger, a great portrait painter. 
This cut shows the reformer when his revolt against the Church was 
just beginning. He was thirty-seven years old and still in the dress of 
an Augustinian friar, which he soon abandoned 



289 



290 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Luther's 
idea of 
salvation 



Collection 
for rebuild- 
ing St. Peters 



Indulgences 



that Aristotle was after all only an ancient heathen who knew 
nothing about Christianity and that the students had no business 
to study his works. He urged them to rely instead upon the 
Bible, especially the letters of St. Paul, and upon the writings of 
St. Augustine, who closely followed Paul in many respects. 

Luther's main point was that man, through Adam's sin, had 
become so corrupt that he could, of himself, do nothing pleas- 
ing to God. He could only hope to be saved through faith in 
God's promise to save those who should repent. Consequently 
" good works," such as attending church, going on pilgrimages, 
repeating prayers, and visiting relics of the saints, could do 
nothing for a sinner if he was not already " justified by faith," 
that is, made acceptable to God by his faith in God's promises. 
If he was "justified," then he might properly go about his daily 
duties, for they would be pleasing to God without what the 
Church was accustomed to regard as " good works." 

Luther's teachings did not attract much attention until the 
year 15 17, when he was thirty-four years old. Then something 
occurred to give him considerable prominence. 

The fact has already been mentioned that the popes had 
undertaken the rebuilding of St. Peter's, the great central church 
of Christendom (see above, p. 231). The cost of the enterprise 
was very great, and in order to collect contributions for the 
purpose, Pope Leo X arranged for an extensive distribution 
of indulgences in Germany. 

In order to understand the nature of indulgences and Luther's 
opposition to them, we must consider the teaching of the Catholic 
Church in regard to the forgiveness of sin. The Church taught 
that if one died after committing a serious (" mortal ") sin of 
which he had not repented and confessed, his soul would cer- 
tainly be lost. If he sincerely repented and confessed his sin 
to a priest, God would forgive him and his soul would be saved, 
but he would not thereby escape punishment. This punishment 
might consist in fasting, saying certain prayers, going on a pil- 
grimage, or doing some other " good work." It was assumed, 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 29 1 

however, that most men committed so many sins that even if 
they died repentant, they had to pass through a long period in 
purgatory, where they would be purified by suffering before 
they could enter heaven. 

Now an indulgence was a pardon, issued usually by the pope 
himself, which freed the person to whom it was granted from 
a part or all of his suffering in purgatory. It did not forgive 
his sins or in any way take the place of true repentance and 
confession ; it only reduced the punishment which a truly 
contrite sinner would otherwise have had to endure, either 
in this world or in purgatory, before he could be admitted to 
heaven. 1 

The contribution to the Church which was made in return for 
indulgences varied greatly ; the rich were required to give a con- 
siderable sum, while the very poor were to receive these pardons 
gratis. The representatives of the pope were naturally anxious 
to collect all the money possible, and did their best to induce 
every one to secure an indulgence, either for himself or for his 
deceased friends in purgatory. In their zeal they made many 
claims for the indulgences, to which no thoughtful churchman 
or even layman could listen without misgivings. 

In October, 15 17, Tetzel, a Dominican monk, began granting Luther's 
indulgences in the neighborhood of Wittenberg, and making indulgeno 
claims for them which appeared to Luther wholly irreconcilable 
with the deepest truths of Christianity as he understood and 
taught them. He therefore, in accordance with the custom of 
the time, wrote out a series of ninety-five statements in regard 
to indulgences. These theses, as they were called, he posted on 
the church door and invited any one interested in the matter to 
enter into a discussion with him on the subject, which he believed 
was very ill understood. 

1 It is a common mistake of Protestants to suppose that the indulgence was 
forgiveness granted beforehand for sins to be committed in the future. There is 
absolutely no foundation for this idea. A person proposing to sin could not pos- 
sibly be contrite in the eyes of the Church, and even if he secured an indulgence, 
it would, according to the theologians, have been quite worthless. 



292 



Medieval and Modern Times 




Fig. 80. Portrait of Frederick the Wise, by 
Albrecht Durer 

Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, was very. proud of the univer- 
sity that he founded at Wittenberg, and, while he was a devout Catholic 
and seems hardly to have understood what Luther stood for, he pro- 
tected his professor and did not propose to have him tried for heresy 
by the Church. The portrait is a fine example of the work of the artist 
who distinguished himself as both a painter and an engraver 



In posting these theses, Luther did not intend to attack the 
Church, and had no expectation of creating a sensation. The 
theses were in Latin and addressed, therefore, only to learned 
men. It turned out, however, that every one, high and low, learned 
and unlearned, was ready to discuss the perplexing theme of the 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 293 

nature of indulgences. The theses were promptly translated into Contents of 

German, printed, and scattered abroad throughout the land. In these^ S 

these ninety-five theses Luther declared that the indulgence was 

very unimportant and that the poor man would better spend his 

money for the needs of his household. The truly repentant, he 

argued, do not flee punishment, but bear it willingly in sign of 

their sorrow. Faith in God, not the procuring of pardons, brings 

forgiveness, and every Christian who feels true sorrow for 

his sins will receive full remission of the punishment as well as 

of the guilt. Could the pope know how his agents misled the 

people, he would rather have St. Peter's burn to ashes than 

build it up with money gained under false pretenses. Then, 

Luther adds, there is danger that the common man will ask 

awkward questions. For example, " If the pope releases souls 

from purgatory for money, why not for charity's sake ? " or, 

" Since the pope is rich as Croesus, why does he not build 

St.' Peter's with his own money, instead of taking that of the 

poor man ? " 

Luther now began to read church history and reached the Luther 
conclusion that the influence of the popes had not been very suspicious of 
great until the times of Gregory VII (sections 30-31), and the P a P ac y 
therefore that they had not enjoyed their supremacy over the 
Church for more than four hundred years before his own birth. 
He was mistaken in this conclusion, but he had hit upon a line 
of argument that has been urged by Protestants ever since. 
They assert that the power of the Medieval Church and of the 
papacy developed gradually, especially during the Middle Ages, 
and that the apostles knew nothing of masses, indulgences, pil- 
grimages, purgatory, or the headship of the bishop of Rome. 

The publication of Luther's theses brought him many sympa- Wide diffu- 
thizers in Germany. Some were attracted by his protests against Luther's 
the ways in which the popes raised money, and others liked him works 
for attacking Aristotle and the scholastic theologians. Erasmus' 
publisher at Basel agreed to publish Luther's books, of which 
he sent copies to Italy, France, England, and Spain, and in this 



294 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Erasmus' 
attitude 
toward the 
Lutheran 
movement 



Contrast 
between 
Luther and 
Erasmus 



Luther 
begins to 
use violent 
language 



way the Wittenberg monk began before long to be widely known 
outside of Germany as well as within it. 

But Erasmus himself, the mighty sovereign of the men of 
letters, refused to take sides in the controversy. He asserted that 
he had not read more than a dozen pages of Luther's writings. 
Although he admitted that " the monarchy of the Roman high 
priest was, in its existing condition, the pest of Christendom," he 
believed that a direct attack upon it would do no good. Luther, 
he urged, would better be discreet and trust that as mankind 
became more intelligent they would outgrow their false ideas. 

To Erasmus, man was capable of progress ; cultivate him and 
extend his knowledge, and he would grow better and better. 
He was, moreover, a free agent, with, on the whole, upright 
tendencies. To Luther, on the other hand, man was utterly cor- 
rupt, and incapable of a single righteous wish or deed. His 
will was enslaved to evil, and his only hope lay in the recogni- 
tion of his absolute inability to better himself, and in a humble 
reliance upon God's mercy. By faith, and not by doing "good 
works," could he be saved. 

Erasmus was willing to wait until every one agreed that the 
Church should be reformed. Luther had no patience with an 
institution which seemed to him to be leading souls to destruc- 
tion by inducing men to rely upon their good works. Both men 
realized that they could never agree. For a time they expressed 
respect for each other, but at last they became involved in a 
bitter controversy in which they gave up all pretense to friend- 
ship. Erasmus declared that Luther, by scorning good works 
and declaring that no one could do right, had made his follow- 
ers indifferent to their conduct, and that those who accepted 
Luther's teachings straightway became pert, rude fellows, who 
would not take off their hats to him on the street. 

By 1520, Luther, who gave way at times to his naturally 
violent disposition, had become threatening and abusive and 
suggested that the German rulers should punish the church- 
men and force them to reform their conduct. "We punish 



German 
people 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 295 

thieves with the gallows, bandits with the sword, heretics with 
fire ; why should we not, with far greater propriety, attack with 
every kind of weapon these very masters of perdition, the cardi- 
nals and popes." " The die is cast," he writes to a friend ; "I 
despise Rome's wrath as I do her favor ; I will have no recon- 
ciliation or intercourse with her in all time to come. Let her 
condemn and burn my writings. I will, if fire can be found, 
publicly condemn and burn the whole papal law." 

Luther had gained the support of a German knight named Luther's and 
Ulrich von Hutten, who was an ardent enemy of the popes. appeaHo the 
He and Luther vied with one another during the year 1520 in 
attacking the pope and his representatives. They both pos- 
sessed a fine command of the German language, and they were 
fired by a common hatred of Rome. Hutten had little or none 
of Luther's religious fervor, but he was a born fighter and he 
could not find colors dark enough in which to picture to his coun- 
trymen the greed of the papal curia, which he described as a 
vast den, to which everything was dragged .which could be 
filched from the Germans. 

Of Luther's popular pamphlets, the first really famous one Luther's 
was his Address to the German Nobility, in which he calls upon the German 
the rulers of Germany, especially the knights, to reform the Nobtht y 
abuses themselves, since he believed that it was vain to wait 
for the Church to do so. He explains that there are three walls 
behind which the papacy had been wont to take refuge when 
any- one proposed to remedy its abuses. There was, first, the 
claim that the clergy formed a separate class, superior even to 
the civil rulers, who were not permitted to punish a churchman, 
no matter how bad he was. Secondly, the pope claimed to be 
superior even to the great general assemblies of the Church, 
called councils, so that even the representatives of the Church 
itself might not correct him. And, lastly, the pope assumed the 
sole right, when questions of belief arose, to interpret with 
authority the meaning of the Scriptures ; consequently he could 
not be refuted by arguments from the Bible. 



296 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Luther advo- 
cates social 
as well as 
religious 
reforms 



Luther undertook to cast down these defenses by denying, to 
begin with, that there was anything especially sacred about a 
clergyman except the duties which he had been designated to 
perform. If he did not attend to his w r ork, it should be possible 
to deprive him of his office at any moment, just as one would 
turn off an incompetent tailor or farmer, and in that case he 
should become a simple layman again. Luther claimed, more- 
over, that it was the right and duty of the civil government to 
punish a churchman who does wrong just as if he were the 
humblest layman. When this first wall was destroyed the others 
would fall easily enough, for the dominant position of the clergy 
was the very cornerstone of the Medieval Church. 

The Address to the German Nobility closes with a long list 
of evils which must be done away with before Germany can 
become prosperous. Luther saw that his view of religion really 
implied a social revolution. He advocated reducing the monas- 
teries to a tenth of their number and permitting those monks 
who were disappointed in the good they got from living in them 
freely to leave. He would not have the monasteries prisons, 
but hospitals and refuges for the soul-sick. He points out the 
evils of pilgrimages and of the numerous church holidays, which 
interfered with daily work. The clergy, ,he urged, should be 
permitted to marry and have families like other citizens. The 
universities should be reformed, and " the accursed heathen, 
Aristotle," should be cast out from them. 

It should be noted that Luther appeals to the authorities 
not in the name of religion chiefly, but in that of public order 
and prosperity. He says that the money of the Germans flies 
' feather-light " over the Alps to Italy, but it immediately be- 
comes like lead when there is a question of its coming back. 
He showed himself a master of vigorous language, and his 
denunciations of the clergy and the Church resounded like a 
trumpet call in the ears of his countrymen. 1 



1 Luther had said little of the doctrines of the Church in his Address to the 
German Nobility, but within three or four months he issued a second work, in 



excommuni- 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 297 

Luther had long expected to be excommunicated. But it was Luther 
not until late in 1520 that John Eck, a personal enemy of his, cated* 
arrived in Germany with -a papal bull (Fig. 81) condemning 
many of Luther's assertions as heretical and giving him sixty 
days in which to recant. Should he fail to return to his senses 
within that time, he and all who adhered to or favored him 
were to be excommunicated, and any place which harbored him 
should fall under the interdict. Now, since the highest power in 
Christendom had pronounced Luther a heretic, he should un- 
hesitatingly have been delivered up by the German authorities. 
But no one thought of arresting him. 

The bull irritated the German princes ; whether they liked The German 
Luther or not, they decidedly disliked to have the pope issuing reluctant 6 to 
commands to them. Then it appeared to them very unfair that P u jj llsh the t 
Luther's personal enemy should have been intrusted with the Luther 
publication of the bull. Even the princes and universities that 
were most friendly to the pope published the bull with great 
reluctance. In many cases the bull was ignored altogether. 
Luther's own sovereign, the elector of Saxony, while no con- 
vert to the new views, was anxious that Luther's case should 
be fairly considered, and continued to protect him. One mighty 
prince, however, the young Emperor Charles V, promptly and 
willingly published the bull; not, however, as emperor, but as 
ruler of the Austrian dominions and of the Netherlands. Luther's 
works were publicly burned at Louvain, Mayence, and Cologne, 
the strongholds of the old theology. 

The Wittenberg professor felt himself forced to oppose him- Luther defies 
self to both pope and emperor. " Hard it is," he exclaimed, emperor, 
"to be forced to contradict all the prelates and princes, but k^™^^ 
there is no other way to escape hell and God's anger." Late 15 20 



which he sought to overthrow the whole system of the sacraments, as it had 
been taught by the theologians. Four of the seven sacraments — ordination, 
marriage, confirmation, and extreme unction — he rejected altogether. He re- 
vised the conception of the Mass, or the Lord's Supper. The priest was, in 
his eyes, only a minister, in the Protestant sense of the word, one of whose 
chief functions was preaching. 



298 Medieval and Modern Times 

in 1520 he summoned his students to witness what he called "a 
pious religious spectacle." He had a fire built outside the walls 
of Wittenberg and cast into it Leo X's bull condemning him, 

Mitrotttra <frro 

rceMmimtmbcti 
etfcqwmm. 




Fig. 81. The Papal Bull directed against Luther, 1521 

This is a much-reduced reproduction of the title-page of the pope's bull 

" against the errors of Martin Luther and his followers " as it was 

printed and distributed in Germany. The coat of arms with its "balls" 

is that of the Medici family to which Leo X belonged 

and a copy of the Laws of the Church, together with a volume 
of scholastic theology which he specially disliked. 

Yet Luther dreaded disorder. He was certainly sometimes 
reckless and violent in his writings and often said that bloodshed 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 299 

could not be avoided when it should please God to visit his Luther's 
judgments upon the stiff-necke'd and perverse generation of toward^ 
" Romanists," as the Germans contemptuously called the sup- vio . lent reali- 

J r zation of his 

porters of the pope. Yet he always discouraged hasty reform, reforms 
He was reluctant to make changes, except in belief. He held 
that so long as an institution did not actually mislead, it did 
no harm. He was, in short, no fanatic at heart. 



The Diet at Worms, 1 520-1 521 

58. The pope's chief representative in Germany, named Ale- views of the 
ander, wrote as follows to Leo X about this time : "I am sensitive* 6 " 
pretty familiar with the history of this German nation. I know on .pp bl1 ? 

1 J J opinion in 

their past heresies, councils, and schisms, but never were affairs Germany 
so serious before. Compared with present conditions, the struggle 
between Henry IV and Gregory VII was as violets and roses. 
. . . These mad dogs are now well equipped with knowledge 
and arms ; they boast that they are no longer ignorant brutes like 
their predecessors ; they claim that Italy has lost the monopoly 
of the sciences and that the Tiber now flows into the Rhine. 
Nine-tenths of the Germans are shouting ' Luther,' and the other 
tenth goes so far at least as ' Death to the Roman curia.' " 

Among the enemies of Luther and his supporters none was Charles V's 
more important than the young emperor. It was toward the pathy°with m ~ 
end of the year 1C20 that Charles came to Germany for the the German 

J ° J reformers 

first time. After being crowned King of the Romans at Aix- 
la-Chapelle, he assumed, with the pope's consent, the title of 
Emperor elect, as his grandfather Maximilian had done. He 
then moved on to the town of Worms, where he was to hold 
his first diet and face the German situation. 

Although scarcely more than a boy in years, Charles had 
already begun to take life very seriously. He had decided that 
Spain, not Germany, was to be the bulwark and citadel of all 
his realms. Like the more enlightened of his Spanish subjects, 
he realized the need of reforming the Church, but he had no 



300 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



Luther sum- 
moned to the 
diet at 
Worms 



Luther be- 
fore the diet 



sympathy whatever with any change of religious belief. He 
proposed to live and die a devout Catholic of the old type, such 
as his orthodox ancestors had been. He felt, moreover, that he 
must maintain the same religion in all parts of his heterogeneous 
dominions. If he should permit the Germans to declare their 
independence of the Church, the next step would be for them 
to claim that they had a right to regulate their government 
regardless of their emperor. 

Upon arriving at Worms the case of Luther was at once 
forced upon Charles's attention by Aleander, the papal repre- 
sentative, who was indefatigable in urging him to outlaw the 
heretic without further delay. While Charles seemed convinced 
of Luther's guilt, he could not proceed against him without 
serious danger. The monk had become a sort of national hero 
and had the support of the powerful elector of Saxony. Other 
princes, who had ordinarily no wish to protect a heretic, felt 
that Luther's denunciation of the evils in the Church and of 
the actions of the pope was very gratifying. After much dis- 
cussion it was finally arranged, to the great disgust of the 
zealous Aleander, that Luther should be summoned to Worms 
and be given an opportunity to face the German nation and 
the emperor, and to declare plainly whether he was the author 
of the heretical books ascribed to him, and whether he still 
adhered to the doctrines which the pope had condemned. 

The emperor accordingly wrote the " honorable and respected " 
Luther a very polite letter, desiring him to appear at Worms 
and granting him a safe-conduct thither. 

It was not, however, proposed to give Luther an opportunity 
to defend his beliefs before the diet. When he appeared he 
was simply asked if a pile of his Latin and German works 
were really his, and, if so, whether he revoked what he had 
said in them. To the first question the monk replied in a low 
voice that he had written these and more. As to the second 
question, which involved the welfare of the soul and the Word 
of God, he asked that he might have a little while to consider. 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 301 

The following day, in a Latin address which he repeated in 
German, he admitted that he had been overviolent in his attacks 
upon his opponents ; but he said that no one could deny that, 
through the popes' decrees, the consciences of faithful Chris- 
tians had been tormented, and their goods and possessions, 
especially in Germany, devoured. Should he recant those things 
which he had said against the popes' conduct, he would only 
strengthen the papal tyranny and give an opportunity for new 
usurpations. If, however, adequate arguments against his posi- 
tion could be found in the Scriptures, he would gladly and 
willingly recant. 

There was now nothing for the emperor to do but to outlaw The emperor 
Luther, who had denied the binding character of the commands i^to outlaw 
of the head of the Church. Aleander was accordingly assigned Luther 
the agreeable duty of drafting the famous Edict of Worms. 

This document declared Luther an outlaw on the following The Edict of 
grounds : that he questioned the recognized number and char- 
acter of the sacraments, impeached the regulations in regard 
to the marriage of the clergy, scorned and vilified the pope, 
despised the priesthood and stirred up the laity to dip their 
hands in the blood of the clergy, denied free will, taught licen- 
tiousness, despised authority, advocated a brutish existence, and 
was a menace to Church and State alike. Every one was for- 
bidden to give the heretic food, drink, or shelter, and required 
to seize him and deliver him to the emperor. 

Moreover, the decree provides that " no one shall dare to 
buy, sell, read, preserve, copy, print, or cause to be copied or 
printed, any books of the aforesaid Martin Luther, condemned 
by our holy father the pope, as aforesaid, or any other writings 
in German or Latin hitherto composed by him, since they are 
foul, noxious, suspected, and published by a notorious and stiff- 
necked heretic. Neither shall any one dare to affirm his opinions, 
or proclaim, defend, or advance them in any other way that human 
ingenuity can invent, — notwithstanding that he may have put 
some good into his writings in order to deceive the simple man." 



302 



Medieval and Modern Times 



" I am becoming ashamed of my fatherland," Hutten cried 
when he read the Edict of Worms. So general was the dis- 
approval of the edict -that few were willing to pay any attention 
to it. Charles V immediately left Germany, and for nearly ten 
years was occupied outside it with the government of Spain 
and a succession of wars. 

The Revolt against the Papacy begins in 
Germany 



Luther be- 
gins a new 
translation of 
the Bible in 
the Wartburg 



Luther's 
Bible the 
first impor- 
tant book in 
modern 
German 



General dis- 
cussion of 
public ques- 
tions in 
pamphlets 
and satires 



59. As Luther neared Eisenach upon his way home from 
Worms he was kidnaped by his friends and conducted to the 
Wartburg, a castle belonging to the elector of Saxony. Here 
he was concealed until any danger from the action of the 
emperor or diet should pass by. His chief occupation during 
several months of hiding was to begin a new translation of 
the Bible into German. He had finished the New Testament 
before he left the Wartburg in March, 1522. 

Up to this time, German editions of the Scriptures, while 
not uncommon, had been poor and obscure. Luther's task was 
a difficult one. He was anxious above all that the Bible should 
be put into language that would seem perfectly clear and natural 
to the common folk. So he went about asking the mothers and 
children and the laborers questions which might draw out the 
expression that he was looking for. It sometimes took him 
two or three weeks to find the right word. But so well did he 
do his work that his Bible may be regarded as a great land- 
mark in the history of the German language. It was the first 
book of any importance written in modern German, and it has 
furnished an imperishable standard for the language. 

Previous to 1 5 1 8 there had been very few books or pamphlets 
printed in German. The translation of the Bible into language 
so simple that even the unlearned might read it was only 
one of the signs of a general effort to awaken the minds of the 
common people. Luther's friends and enemies also commenced 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 303 

to write for the great German public in its own language. 
The common man began to raise his voice, to the scandal 
of the learned. 

Hundreds of pamphlets, satires, and cartoons have come 
down to us which indicate that the religious and other ques- 
tions of the day were often treated in somewhat the same 
spirit in which our comic papers deal with political problems 
and discussions now. We find, for instance, a correspondence 
between Leo X and the devil, and a witty dialogue between a 
well-known knight, Franz von Sickingen, and St. Peter at the 
gate of heaven. 

Hitherto there had been a great deal of talk of reform, but Divergent 
as yet nothing had actually been done. There was no sharp howthe 
line drawn between the different classes of reformers. All c , hur 1 j h . 

should actu- 

agreed that something should be done to better the Church ; ally be 
few realized how divergent were the real ends in view. The 
rulers listened to Luther because they were glad of an excuse 
to get control of the church property and keep money from 
flowing to Rome. The peasants listened because he put the 
Bible in their hands and they found nothing there that proved 
that they ought to go on paying the old dues to their lords. 

While Luther was quietly living in the Wartburg, translating The revolt 
the Bible, people began to put his teachings into practice. The egms 
monks and nuns left their monasteries in his own town of 
Wittenberg. Some of them married, which seemed a very 
wicked thing to all those that held to the old beliefs. The 
students and citizens tore down the images of the saints in 
the churches and opposed the celebration of the Mass, the 
chief Catholic ceremony. 

Luther did not approve of these sudden and violent changes Luther 
and left his hiding place to protest. He preached a series of violent™ 
sermons in Wittenberg in which he urged that all alterations reform 
in religious services and practices should be introduced by the 
government and not by the people. He said, however, that those 
who wished might leave their monasteries and that those who 



304 Medieval and Modern Times 

chose to stay should give up begging and earn their living like 
other people. He predicted that if no one gave any money to 
the Church, popes, bishops, monks, and nuns would in two years 
vanish away like smoke. 
Revolt of the But his counsel was not heeded. First, the German knights 
knight" organized a movement to put the new ideas in practice. Franz 

von Sickingen and Ulrich von Hutten, admirers of Luther, at- 
tacked the archbishop of Treves and proclaimed that they were 
going to free his subjects from " the heavy unchristian yoke of 
the ' parsons ' and lead them to evangelical liberty." But the 
German princes sided with the archbishop and battered down 
Franz von Sickingen's castle with cannon, and Franz was fatally 
injured by a falling beam. Twenty other castles of the knights 
were destroyed and this put an end to their revolt ; but Luther 
and his teachings were naturally blamed as the real reason for 
the uprising. 
Luther's rash The conservative party, who were frankly afraid of Luther, 
the princes received a new and terrible proof, as it seemed to them, of the 
sei-ves°to e en- nox i ous influence of his teachings. In 1525 the serfs rose, in 
courage the the name of " God's justice," to avensre their wrongs and estab- 

revolt of the J fe & 

peasants lish their rights. Luther was not responsible for the civil war 

which followed, though he had certainly helped to stir up dis- 
content. He had. asserted, for example, that the German feudal 
lords were hangmen, who knew only how to swindle the poor 
man. " Such fellows were formerly called rascals, but now 
must we call them ' Christian and revered princes.' " Yet in 
spite of his harsh talk about the princes, Luther really relied 
upon them to forward his movement, and he justly claimed 
that he had greatly increased their power by attacking the 
authority of the pope and subjecting the clergy in all things 
to the government. 

The demands Some of the demands of the peasants were perfectly rea- 

of the peas- , . rrn . . 

ants in the sonable. 1 he most popular expression of their needs was the 
Articled' dignified ''Twelve Articles." 1 In these they claimed that the 

1 The " Twelve Articles " may be found in Readings, Vol. II, chap. xxvi. 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 305 

Bible did not sanction any of the dues which the lords de- 
manded of them, and that, since they were Christians like their 
lords, they should no longer be held as serfs. They were willing 
to pay all the old and well-established dues, but they asked to 
be properly remunerated for extra services demanded by the 
lord. They thought too that each community should have the 
right freely to choose its own pastor and to dismiss him if he 
proved negligent or inefficient. 

There were, however, leaders who were more violent and Luther urges 
who proposed to kill the "godless" priests and nobles. Hun- men^tcfsup- 
dreds of castles and monasteries were destroyed by the frantic pres f , the 
peasantry, and some of the nobility were murdered with shock- 
ing cruelty. Luther tried to induce the peasants, with whom, 
as the son of a peasant, he was at first inclined to sympathize, 
to remain quiet ; but when his warnings proved vain, he turned 
against them. He declared that they were guilty of the most 
fearful crimes, for which they deserved death of both body and 
soul many times over. They had broken their allegiance, they 
had wantonly plundered and robbed castles and monasteries, 
and lastly, they had tried to cloak their dreadful sins with ex- 
cuses from the Gospels. He therefore urged the government 
to put down the insurrection without pity. 

Luther's advice was followed with terrible literalness by the The peasant 
German rulers, and the nobility took fearful revenge on the Sown with 
peasants. In the summer of 1525 their chief leader was de- s reatcruelt y 
feated and killed, and it is estimated that ten thousand peasants 
were put to death, many with the utmost cruelty. Few of the 
rulers or landlords introduced any reforms, and the misfortunes 
due to the destruction of property and to the despair of the 
peasants cannot be imagined. The people concluded that the 
new gospel was not for them, and talked of Luther as Dr. 
Liigner, that is, " liar." The old exactions of the lords of the 
manors were in no way lightened, and the situation of the 
serfs for centuries following the great revolt was worse rather 
than better. 



306 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Southern 

Germany 

remains 

Catholic, the 

northern 

princes 

become 

Protestant 



Action of 
diet of 
Speyer, 1526 



Hopes of 
uniting all 
religious 
parties 



Division of Germany into Catholic and 
Protestant Countries 

60. Charles V was occupied at this time by his quarrels with 
Francis I (see p. 279) and was in no position to return to 
Germany and undertake to enforce the Edict of Worms against 
Luther and his followers. Germany, as we have seen, was 
divided up into hundreds of practically independent countries, 
and the various electors, princes, towns, and knights naturally 
could not agree as to what would best be done in the matter of 
reforming the Church. It became apparent not long after the 
Peasant War that some of the rulers were going to accept 
Luther's idea that they need no longer obey the pope but that 
they were free to proceed to regulate the property and affairs 
of the churchmen in their respective domains without regard to 
the pope's wishes. Other princes and towns agreed that they 
would remain faithful to the pope if certain reforms were intro- 
duced, especially if the papal taxation were reduced. Southern 
Germany decided for the pope and remains Catholic down to 
the present day. Many of the northern rulers, on the other 
hand, adopted the new teachings, and finally all of them fell 
away from the papacy and became Protestant. 

Since there was no one powerful enough to decide the great 
question for the whole of Germany, the diet which met at 
Speyer in 1526 determined that pending the summoning of a 
church council each ruler should " so live, reign, and conduct 
himself as he would be willing to answer before God and His 
Imperial Majesty." For the moment, then, the various German 
governments were left to determine the religion of their subjects. 

Yet everybody still hoped that one religion might ultimately 
be agreed upon. Luther trusted that all Christians would some- 
time accept the new gospel. He was willing that the bishops 
should be retained, and even that the pope should still be 
regarded as a sort of presiding officer in the Church. As 
for his enemies, they were equally confident that the heretics 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 307 

would in time be suppressed, as they had always been in the 
past, and that harmony would thus be restored. Neither party 
was right ; for the decision of the diet of Speyer was destined 
to become a permanent arrangement, and Germany remained 
divided between different religious faiths. 

New sects opposed to the old Church had also begun to Charles v 
appear. Zwingli, a Swiss reformer, was gaining many followers, ^fnes hfthe 
and the Anabaptists were rousing Luther's apprehensions by religious con- 

1 ° L L J troversy in 

their radical plans for doing away with the Catholic religion alto- Germany 
gether. The emperor, finding himself again free for a time to 
attend to German affairs, commanded the diet, which again met 
at Speyer in 1529, to order the enforcement of the Edict of 
Worms against the heretics. No one was to preach against 
the Mass, and no one was to be prevented from attending 
it freely. 

This meant that the " Evangelical " princes would be forced origin of 
to restore the most characteristic of the Catholic ceremonies. « p ro e teTtant " 
As they formed only a minority in the diet, all that they could 
do was to draw up a protest, signed by John Frederick, elector 
of Saxony, Philip of Hesse, and fourteen of the imperial towns 
(Strassburg, Nuremberg, Ulm, etc.). In this they claimed that 
the majority had no right to abrogate the edict of the former 
diet of Speyer, which had been passed unanimously, and which 
all had solemnly pledged themselves to observe. They there- 
fore appealed to the emperor and a future council against 
the tyranny of the majority. Those who signed this appeal 
were called from their action Protestants. Thus originated the 
name which came to be generally applied to those who do not 
accept the rule and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Ever since the diet at Worms the emperor had resided in Preparations 
Spain, busied with a succession of wars carried on with the f Augsburg 
king of France. It will be remembered that both Charles and 
Francis claimed Milan and the duchy of Burgundy, and they 
sometimes drew the pope into their conflicts. But in 1530 the 
emperor found himself at peace for the moment and came to 



3o8 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



The Augs- 
burg Con- 
fession 



Charles V's 
attempt at 
pacification 



Germany to hold a brilliant diet of his German subjects at 
Augsburg in the hope of settling the religious problem, which, 
however, he understood very imperfectly. He ordered the Prot- 
estants to draw up a statement of exactly what they believed, 
which should serve as a basis for discussion. Melanchthon, 
Luther's most famous friend and colleague, who was noted 
for his great learning and moderation, was intrusted with this 
delicate task. 

The Augsburg Co?ifession, as his declaration was called, is 
a historical document of great importance for the student of 
the Protestant revolt. 1 Melanchthon's gentle disposition led him 
to make the differences between his belief and that of the old 
Church seem as few and slight as possible. He showed that 
both parties held the same fundamental views of Christianity. 
But he defended the Protestants' rejection of a number of the 
practices of the Roman Catholics, such as the celibacy of the 
clergy and the observance of fast days. There was little or 
nothing in the Augsburg Confession concerning the organization 
of the Church. 

Certain theologians who had been loud in their denunciations 
of Luther were ordered by the emperor to prepare a refutation 
of the Protestant views. The statement of the Catholics ad- 
mitted that a number of Melanchthon's positions were perfectly 
orthodox ; but the portion of the Augsburg Confession which 
dealt with the practical reforms introduced by the Protestants 
was rejected altogether. 

Charles V declared the Catholic statement to be" Christian 
and judicious " and commanded the Protestants to accept it. 
They were to cease troubling the Catholics and were to give 
back all the monasteries and church property which they had 
seized. The emperor agreed, however, to urge the pope to call 
a council to meet within a year. This, he hoped, would be able 



1 It is still accepted as the creed of the Lutheran Church. Copies of it in 
English may be procured from the Lutheran Publication Society, Philadelphia, 
for ten cents each. 



The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 309 

to settle all differences and reform the Church according to the 
views of the Catholics. 

It is unnecessary to follow in detail the progress of Protestant- Progress of 
ism in Germany during the quarter of a century succeeding the ism^pt^the 
diet of Augsburg. Enough has been said to show the character ^ eace ! of 
of the revolt and the divergent views taken by the German 1555 
princes and people. For ten years after the emperor left Augs- 
burg he was kept busy in southern Europe by new wars ; and 
in order to secure the assistance of the Protestants, he was 
forced to let them go their own way. Meanwhile the number 
of rulers who accepted Luther's teachings gradually increased. 
Finally, there was a brief war between Charles and the Protestant 
princes, but there was little fighting done. Charles V brought his 
Spanish soldiers into Germany and captured both John Frederick 
of Saxony and his ally, Philip of Hesse, the chief leaders of the 
Lutheran cause, whom he kept prisoners for several years. 

This episode did not, however, check the progress of Prot- 
estantism. The king of France promised them help against his 
enemy, the emperor, and Charles was forced to agree to a peace 
with the Protestants. 

In 1555 the religious Peace of Augsburg was ratified. Its The Peace of 
provisions are memorable. Each German prince and each town ugs urg 
and knight immediately under the emperor was to be at liberty 
to make a choice between the beliefs of the venerable Catholic 
Church and those embodied in the Augsburg Confession. If, 
however, an ecclesiastical prince — an archbishop, bishop, or 
abbot — declared himself a Protestant, he must surrender his 
possessions to the Church. Every German was either to con- 
form to the religious practices of his particular state or emi- 
grate from it. Every one was supposed to be either a Catholic 
or a Lutheran, and no provision was made for any other belief. 

This religious peace in no way established freedom of con- 
science, except for the rulers. Their power, it must be noted, 
was greatly increased, inasmuch as they were given the control 
of religious as well as of secular matters. This arrangement 



310 Medieval and Modern Times 

The principle which permitted the ruler to determine the religion of his 

government realm was more natural in those days than it would be in 

m£e 1< the eter " ours " ^ e Church and the civil government had been closely 

religion of its associated with one another for centuries. No one as yet 

subjects 

dreamed that every individual might safely be left quite free 
to believe what he would and to practice any religious rites 
which afforded him help and comfort. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 56. What were the sources of discontent with the 
Church in Germany ? What were the views of Erasmus in regard to 
church reform? 

Section 57. Tell something of Luther's life before he posted 
up his theses. What was an indulgence? Give some of Luther's 
views expressed in his ninety-five theses. Contrast the opinions of 
Erasmus and Luther. Who was Ulrich von Hutten ? Discuss Luther's 
Address to the German Nobility. Why was Luther excommuni- 
cated ? What was the fate of the papal bull directed against him ? 

Section 58. Why did Charles V summon Luther at Worms? 
What did Luther say to the diet ? What were the chief provisions of 
the Edict of Worms ? 

Section 59. Describe Luther's translation of the Bible. What 
was the state of public opinion in Germany after the diet at Worms ? 
What was Luther's attitude toward reform ? Why did the German 
peasants revolt? What did the Twelve Articles contain? What 
effect did the peasant war have on Luther ? 

Section 60. What was the origin of the term " Protestant " ? 
What was the Augsburg Confession ? What were the results of the 
diet of Augsburg ? What was the policy of Charles V in regard to 
the Protestants? What were the chief provisions of the Peace of 
Augsburg ? 



CHAPTER XV 

THE PROTESTANT REVOLT IN SWITZERLAND AND 
ENGLAND 

Zwingli and Calvin 

61. For at least a century after Luther's death the great issue 
between Catholics and Protestants dominates the history of - 
all the countries with which we have to do, except Italy and 
Spain, where Protestantism never took permanent root. In 
Switzerland, England, France, and Holland the revolt against 
the Medieval Church produced discord, wars, and profound 
changes, which must be understood in order to follow the later 
development of these countries. 

We turn first to Switzerland, lying in the midst of the great Origin of the 
chain of the Alps which extends from the Mediterranean to federation 
Vienna. During the Middle Ages the region destined to be 
included in the Swiss Confederation formed a part of the Holy 
Roman Empire and was scarcely distinguishable from the rest 
of southern Germany. As early as the thirteenth century the 
three "forest" cantons on the shores of the winding lake 
of Lucerne formed a union to protect their liberties against 
the encroachments of their neighbors, the Hapsburgs. It was 
about this tiny nucleus that Switzerland gradually consolidated. 
Lucerne and the free towns of Zurich and Berne soon joined 
the Swiss league. By brave fighting the Swiss were able to frus- 
trate the renewed efforts of the Hapsburgs to subjugate them. 

Various districts in the neighborhood joined the Swiss union 
in succession, and even the region lying on the Italian slopes of 
the Alps was brought under its control. Gradually the bonds 
between the members of the union and the Empire were broken. 

3" 



312 



Medieval and Modem Times 



In 1499 they were finally freed from the jurisdiction of the 
emperor and Switzerland became ' a practically independent 
country. Although the original union had been made up of 
German-speaking people, considerable districts had been an- 
nexed in which Italian or French was spoken. 1 The Swiss did 




The Swiss Confederation in the Sixteenth Century 



not, therefore, form a compact, well-defined nation, and conse- 
quently for some centuries their confederation was weak and 
ill-organized. 

In Switzerland the first leader of the revolt against the Church 
was a young priest named Zwingli, who was a year younger 

1 This condition has not changed ; all Swiss laws are still proclaimed in 
three languages. 



Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 313 

than Luther. He lived in the famous monastery of Einsiedeln, Zwingli 
near the Lake of Zurich, which was the center of pilgrimages 
on account of a wonder-working image. " Here," he says, 



leads the 
revolt in 
Switzerland 

"I began to preach the Gospel of Christ in the year 15 16, against the 
before any one in my locality had so much as heard the name 
of Luther." 

Three years later he was called to an influential position as Zwingli 
preacher in the cathedral of Zurich, and there his great work th^abuses 
really commenced. He then began to denounce the abuses in ^. the h 
the Church as well as the shameless traffic in soldiers, which the traffic in 
he had long regarded as a blot upon his country's honor. 1 

But the original cantons about the Lake of Lucerne, which 
feared that they might lose the great influence that, in spite 
of their small size, they had hitherto enjoyed, were ready to 
fight for the old faith. The first armed collision between the 
Swiss Protestants and Catholics took place at Kappel in 153 1, 
and Zwingli fell in the battle. The various cantons and towns 
never came to an agreement in religious matters, and Switzer- 
land is still part Catholic and part Protestant. 

Far more important than Zwingli's teachings, especially for Calvin 
England and America, was the work of Calvin, which was and°the 
carried on in the ancient city of Geneva, on the very outskirts rhu?? 6 " 311 
of the Swiss confederation. It was Calvin who organized the 
Presbyterian Church and formulated its beliefs. He was born 
in northern France in 1509 ; he belonged, therefore, to the 
second generation of Protestants. He was early influenced by 
the Lutheran teachings, which had already found their way into 
France. A persecution of the Protestants under Francis I drove 
him out of the country and he settled for a time in Basel. 

Here he issued the first edition of his great work, The Insti- Calvin's 
tutes of Christianity, which has been more widely discussed than Christianity 

1 Switzerland had made a business, ever since the time when Charles VIII 
of France invaded Italy, of supplying troops of mercenaries to fight for other 
countries, especially for France and the pope. It was the Swiss who gained the 
battle of Marignano for Francis I, and Swiss guards may still be seen in the 
pope's palace. 



314 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Calvin's 
reformation 
in Geneva 



any other Protestant theological treatise. It was the first orderly 
exposition of the principles of Christianity from a Protestant 
standpoint, and formed a convenient manual for study and dis- 
cussion. The Institutes are based upon the infallibility of the 
Bible and reject the infallibility of the Church and the pope. 
Calvin possessed a remarkably logical mind and a clear and 
admirable style. The French version of his great work is the 
first example of the successful use of that language in an 
argumentative treatise. 

Calvin was called to Geneva about 1540 and intrusted with 
the task of reforming the town, which had secured its inde- 
pendence of the Duke of Savoy. He drew up a constitution 
and established an extraordinary government in which the 
Church and the civil government were as closely associated as 
they had ever been in any Catholic country. Calvin intrusted 
the management of church affairs to the ministers and the 
elders, or presbyters ; hence the name " Presbyterian." The Prot- 
estantism which found its way into France was that of Calvin, 
not that of- Luther, and the same may be said of Scotland (see 
below, p. 346). 



How England fell away from the Papacy 



Erasmus in 
England 



More's 

Utopia 



62. When Erasmus came to England about the year 1500 he 
was delighted with the people he met there. Henry VII was 
still alive. It will be remembered that it was he that brought 
order into England after the Wars of the Roses. His son, who 
was to become the famous Henry VIII, impressed Erasmus as 
a very promising boy. We may assume that the intelligent men 
whom Erasmus met in England agreed with him in regard to 
the situation in the Church and the necessity of reform. He 
was a good friend of Sir Thomas More, who is best known 
for his little book called Utopia, which means "Nowhere." 
In it More pictures the happy conditions in an undiscovered 
land where the government was perfect and all the evils that 



Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 315 

he saw about him were done away. It was at More's house 
that Erasmus wrote his Praise of Polly and dedicated it to him. 

Henry VIII came to the English throne when he was eighteen Wolsey's 
years old. His chief adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, deserves great peaSTnd 
credit for having constantly striven to discourage his sovereign's his idea of 

J fo & the balance 

ambition to take part in the wars on the Continent. The cardinal's of power 




Fig. 82. Henry VIII 

argument that England could become great by peace better than 
by war was a momentous discovery. Peace he felt would be 
best secured by maintaining the balance of power on the Con- 
tinent, so that no ruler should become dangerous by unduly 
extending his sway. For example, he thought it good policy 
to side with Charles V when Francis I was successful, and then 
with Francis after his terrible defeat at Pavia (1525) when he 
fell into the hands of Charles. This idea of the balance of 
power came to be recognized later by the European countries 
as a very important consideration in determining their policy. 



316 Medieval and Modern Times 

But Wolsey was not long to be permitted to put his enlightened 
ideas in practice. His fall and the progress of Protestantism in 
England are both closely associated with the notorious divorce 
case of Henry VIII. 

Henry vi IPs It will be remembered that Henry had married Catherine 
of Aragon, the aunt of Charles V. Only one of their children, 
Mary, survived to grow up. As time went on Henry was very 
anxious to have a son and heir, for he was fearful lest a woman 
might not be permitted to succeed to the throne. Moreover, 
he had tired of Catherine, who was considerably older than he. 
Catherine had first married Henry's older brother, who had 
died almost immediately after the marriage. Since it was 
a violation of the rule of the Church to marry a deceased 
brother's wife, Henry professed to fear that he was commit- 
ting a sin by retaining Catherine as his wife and demanded 
to be divorced from her on the ground that his marriage had 
never been legal. His anxiety to rid himself of Catherine was 
greatly increased by the appearance at court of a black-eyed 
girl of sixteen, named Anne Boleyn, with whom the king fell 
in love. 

Clement vii Unfortunately for his case, his marriage with Catherine had 

refuses to 

divorce been authorized by a dispensation from the pope, so that 

Clement VII, to whom the king appealed to annul the mar- 
riage, could not, even if he had been willing to run the risk 
of angering the queen's nephew, Charles V, have granted 
Henry's request. 

Fall of ' Wolsey's failure to induce the pope to permit the divorce 

Wolsey . 111 

excited the king's anger, . and with rank ingratitude for his 
minister's great services, Henry drove him from office (1529) 
and seized his property. From a life of wealth which was 
fairly regal, Wolsey was precipitated into extreme poverty. 
An imprudent but innocent act of his soon gave his enemies 
a pretext for charging him with treason; but the unhappy 
man died on his way to London and thus escaped being 
beheaded as a traitor. 



Protestant Revolt in Szvitzerland and England 317 

Cardinal Wolsey had been the pope's representative in Henry vi 11 
England. Henry VIII's next move was to declare the whole revXagainst 
clergy of England guilty in obeying Wolsey, since an old law the P a P ac y 
forbade any papal agent to appear in England without the king's 
consent. 1 The king refused to forgive them until they had 
solemnly acknowledged him supreme head of the English 
Church. 2 He then induced Parliament to cut off some of 
the pope's revenue from England ; but, as this did not bring 
Clement VII to terms, Henry lost patience and secretly married 
Anne Boleyn, relying on getting a divorce from Catherine later. 

His method was a simple one. He summoned an English 
church court which declared his marriage with Catherine null 
and void. He had persuaded Parliament to make a law pro- 
viding that all lawsuits should be definitely decided within the 
realm and in this way cut off the possibility of the queen's 
appealing to the pope. 

Parliament, which did whatever Henry VIII asked, also de- 
clared Henry's marriage with Catherine unlawful and that with 
Anne Boleyn legal. Consequently it was decreed that Anne's 
daughter Elizabeth, born in 1533, was to succeed her father on 
the English throne instead, of Mary, the daughter of Catherine. 

In 1534 the English Parliament completed the revolt of the The Act of 
English Church from the pope by assigning to the king the andtfieT^ 
right to appoint all the English prelates and to enjoy all ^'^^ 
the income which had formerly found its way to Rome. In authority 
the Act of Supremacy, Parliament declared the king to be 
" the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England," 
and that he should enjoy all the powers which the title naturally 
carried with it. 

Two years later every officer in the kingdom was required 
to swear to renounce the authority of the bishop of Rome. 

1 Henry had, however, agreed that Wolsey should accept the office of papal 
legate. 

2 The clergy only recognized the king as " Head of the Church and Clergy 
so far as the law of Christ will allow." They did not abjure the headship of the 
pope over the whole Church. 



3i8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Henry VIII 
no Protestant 



Henry's 
anxiety to 
prove him- 
self a good 
Catholic 



The English 
Bible 



Henry's 
tyranny 

Execution of 
Sir Thomas 
More 



Refusal to take this oath was to be adjudged high treason. 
Many were unwilling to deny the pope's headship merely be- 
cause king and Parliament renounced it, and this legislation 
led to a persecution in the name of treason which was even 
more horrible than that which had been carried on in the sup- 
posed interest of religion. 

It must be carefully observed that Henry VIII was not a 
Protestant in the Lutheran sense of the word. He was led, 
it is true, by Clement VII's refusal to declare his first mar- 
riage illegal, to break the bond between the English and the 
Roman Church, and to induce the English clergy and Parlia- 
ment to acknowledge the king as supreme head in the religious 
as well as in the worldly interests of the country. Important 
as this was, it did not lead Henry to accept the teachings of 
Protestant leaders, like Luther, Zwingli, or Calvin. 

Henry was anxious to prove that he was orthodox, espe- 
cially after he had seized the property of the monasteries and 
the gold and jewels which adorned the receptacles in which 
the relics of the saints were kept. He presided in person 
over the trial of one who accepted the opinions of Zwingli, and 
he quoted Scripture to prove the contrary. The prisoner was 
condemned- and burned as a heretic. Henry also authorized a 
new translation of the Bible into English. A fine edition of this 
was printed (1539), and every parish was ordered to obtain a 
copy and place it in the parish church, where all the people 
could readily make use of it. 

Henry VIII was heartless and despotic. With a barbarity 
not uncommon in those days, he allowed his old friend and 
adviser, Sir Thomas More, to be beheaded for refusing to pro- 
nounce the marriage with Catherine void. He caused numbers 
of monks to be .executed for refusing to swear that his first 
marriage was illegal and for denying his title to supremacy in 
the Church. Others he permitted to die of starvation and 
disease in the filthy prisons of the time. Many Englishmen 
would doubtless have agreed with one of the friars who said 



tenes 



Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 319 

humbly : " I profess that it is not out of obstinate malice or a 
mind of rebellion that I do disobey the king, but only for the 
fear of God, that I offend not the Supreme Majesty ; because 
our Holy Mother, the Church, hath decreed and appointed 
otherwise than the king and Parliament hath ordained." 

Henry wanted money ; some of the English abbeys were Dissolution 
rich, and the monks were quite unable to defend themselves ° is h monaf 
against the charges which were brought against them. The 
king sent commissioners about to inquire into the state of the 
monasteries. A large number of scandalous tales were easily 
collected, some of which were undoubtedly true. The monks 
were doubtless often indolent and sometimes wicked. Never- 
theless they were kind landlords, hospitable to the stranger, 
and good to the poor. The plundering of the smaller monas- 
teries, with which the king began, led to a revolt, due to a 
rumor that the king would next proceed to despoil the parish 
churches as well. 

This gave Henry an excuse for attacking the larger monas- 
teries. The abbots and priors who had taken part in the revolt 
were hanged and their monasteries confiscated. Other abbots, 
panic-stricken, confessed that they and their monks had been 
committing the most loathsome sins and asked to be permitted 
to give up their monasteries to the king. The royal commis- 
sioners then took possession, sold every article upon which they 
could lay hands, including the bells and even the lead on the 
roofs. The picturesque remains of some of the great abbey 
churches are still among the chief objects of interest to the 
sight-seer in England. The monastery lands were, of course, 
appropriated by the king. They were sold for the benefit of 
the government or given to nobles whose favor the king 
wished to secure. 

Along with the destruction of the monasteries went an 
attack upon the shrines and images in the churches, which 
were adorned with gold and jewels. The shrine of St. Thomas 
of Canterbury was destroyed, and the bones of the saint were 



320 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Destruction 
of shrines 
and images 
for the 
benefit of 
the king's 
treasury 



Henry's third 
marriage and 
the birth of 
Edward VI 



burned. An old wooden figure which was revered in Wales 
was used to make a fire to burn an unfortunate friar who main- 
tained that in religious matters the pope rather than the king 
should be obeyed. These acts resembled the Protestant attacks 
on images which occurred in Germany, Switzerland, and the 
Netherlands. The main object of the king and his party was 
probably to get money, although the reason urged for the de- 
struction was the superstitious veneration in which the relics 
and images were popularly held. 

Henry's family troubles by no means came to an end 
with his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Of her, too, he soon 
tired, and three years after their marriage he had her executed 
on a series of monstrous charges. The very next day he married 
his third wife, Jane Seymour, who was the mother of his son 
and successor, Edward VI. Jane died a few days after her 
son's birth, and later Henry married in succession three 
other women, who are historically unimportant, since they left 
no children as claimants for the crown. Henry took care that 
his three children, all of whom were destined to reign, should 
be given their due place in the line of inheritance by act of 
Parliament. 1 His death in 1547 left the great problem of 
Protestantism and Catholicism to be settled by his son and 
daughters. 



England becomes Protestant 



Edward VI's 

ministers 

introduce 

Protestant 

practices 



63. While the revolt of England against the papacy was car- 
ried through by the government at a time when the greater part 
of the nation was still Catholic, there was undoubtedly, under 
Henry VIII, an ever-increasing number of aggressive and 
ardent Protestants who applauded the change. During the six 

1 Henry VIII, m. (i) Catherine m. (2) Anne Boleyn, m. (3) Jane Seymour 

Mai 7 ( I 553~ I 558) Elizabeth (1558-1603) Edward VI (1547-1553) 

It was arranged that the son was to succeed to the throne. In case he died 
without heirs, Mary and then Elizabeth were to follow. 



Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 321 

years of the boy Edward's reign — he died in 1553 at the 
age of sixteen — those in charge of the government favored 
the Protestant party and did what they could to change the 
faith of all the people by bringing Protestant teachers from 
the Continent. 

A general demolition of all the sacred images was ordered ; 
even the beautiful stained glass, the glory of the cathedrals, 




Fig. 83. Edward VI, by Holbein 

This interesting sketch was made before Edward became king, and he 
could have been scarcely six years old, as Holbein died in 1543 

was destroyed, because it often represented saints and angels. 
The king was to appoint bishops without troubling to observe 
the old forms of election, and Protestants began to be. put into 
the high offices of the Church. Parliament turned over to the 
king the funds which had been established for the purpose of 
having masses chanted for the dead, and decreed that thereafter 
the clergy should be free to marry. 

A prayer book in English was prepared under the auspices 
of Parliament, not very unlike that used in the Church of 



The prayer 
book and the 
'• Thirty-Nine 
Articles " 



322 



Medieval and Modern Times 



England to-day (see below, p. 345). Moreover, forty-two articles 
of faith were drawn up by the government, which were to 
be the standard of belief for the country. These, in the time 
of Queen Elizabeth, were revised and reduced to the famous 




Fig. 84. Queen Mary, by Axtoxio Moro 

This lifelike portrait, in the Madrid collection, is by a favorite painter 
of Philip II, Mary's husband (see Fig. Sj). It was painted about 1554, 
and one gets the same impressions of Mary's character from the por- 
trait that one does from reading about her. Moro had Holbein's skill 
in painting faces 



"Thirty-Nine Articles," which still constitute the creed of the 
Church of England. 

The changes in the church services must have sadly shocked 
a great part of the English people, who had been accustomed 
to watch with awe and expectancy . the various acts associated 



reaction 



Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 323 

with the many church ceremonies and festivals. Earnest men Protestant- 
who deplored the policy of those who conducted Edward's diTcKed 7 
government in the name of Protestantism must have concluded b y. Edward 's 

° ministers 

that the reformers were chiefly intent upon advancing their 
own interests by plundering the Church. We get some idea 
of the desecrations of the time from the fact that Edward was 
forced to forbid " quarreling and shooting in churches " and 
" the bringing of horses and mules through the same, making 
God's house like a stable or common inn." Although many were 
heartily in favor of the recent changes, it is no wonder that after 
Edward's death there was a revulsion in favor of the old religion. 

Edward VI was succeeded in 1553 by his half sister Mary, Queen Mary 
the daughter of Catherine, who had been brought up in the anaUhe 55 
Catholic faith and held firmly to it. Her ardent hope of bring- Caih ? llc 
ing her kingdom back once more to her religion did not seem 
altogether ill-founded, for the majority of the people were still 
Catholics at heart, and many who were not, disapproved of the 
policy of Edward's ministers, who had removed abuses " in the 
devil's own way, by breaking in pieces." 

The Catholic cause appeared, moreover, to be strengthened 
by Mary's marriage with the Spanish prince, Philip II, the son 
of the orthodox Charles V. But although Philip later distin- 
guished himself, as we shall see, by the merciless way in which 
he strove to put down heresy within his realms, he never gained 
any great influence in England. By his marriage with Mary he 
acquired the title of king, but the English took care that he 
should have no hand in the government nor be permitted to 
succeed his wife on the English throne. 

Mary succeeded in bringing about a nominal reconciliation 
between England and the Roman Church. In 1554 the papal 
legate restored to the communion of the Catholic Church the 
" Kneeling " Parliament, which theoretically, of course, repre- 
sented the nation. 

During the last four years of Mary's reign the most serious 
religious persecution in English history occurred. No less than 



324 Medieval and Modem Times 

two hundred and seventy-seven persons were put to death for 
denying the teachings of the Roman Church. The majority of 
the victims were humble artisans and husbandmen. The three 
most notable sufferers were the bishops Cranmer, Latimer, and 
Ridley, who were burned in Oxford. 

It was Mary's hope and belief that the heretics sent to the 
stake would furnish a terrible warning to the Protestants and 
check the spread of the new teachings, but Catholicism was not 
promoted ; on the contrary, doubters were only convinced of the 
earnestness of the Protestants who could die with such constancy. 

The Catholics, it should be noted, later suffered serious per- 
secution under Elizabeth and James I, the Protestant successors 
of Mary. Death was the penalty fixed in many cases for those 
who obstinately refused to recognize the monarch as the right- 
ful head of the English Church, and heavy fines were imposed 
for the failure to attend Protestant worship. Two hundred 
Catholic priests are said to have been executed under Elizabeth, 
Mary's sister, who succeeded her on the throne ; others were 
tortured or perished miserably in prison. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 61. How did the Swiss Confederation originate? De- 
scribe the reforms begun by Zwingli. Who was Calvin, and what are 
his claims to distinction ? 

Section 62. Mention the chief contemporaries of Erasmus. 
What was the policy of Wolsey? Describe the divorce case of 
Henry VIII. In what way did Henry VIII break away from the 
papacy ? What reforms did he introduce ? What was the dissolution 
of the monasteries ? 

Section 63. What happened during the reign of Edward VI? 
What was the policy of Queen Mary ? 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE WARS OF RELIGION 

The Council of Trent; the Jesuits 

64. In the preceding chapters we have seen how northern Ger- 
many, England, and portions of Switzerland revolted from the 
papacy and established independent Protestant churches. A great 
part of western Europe, however, remained faithful to the pope 
and to the old beliefs which had been accepted for so many cen- 
turies. In order to consider the great question of reforming the 
Catholic Church and to settle disputed questions of religious be- 
lief a great church council was summoned by the pope to meet 
in Trent, on the confines of Germany and Italy, in the year 1545. 
Charles V hoped that the Protestants would come to the coun- 
cil and that their ideas might even yet be reconciled with those 
of the Catholics. But the Protestants did not come, for they 
were too suspicious of an assembly called by the pope to have 
any confidence in its decisions. 

The Council of Trent was interrupted after a few sessions Council 
and did not complete its work for nearly twenty years after it ^^-^^ 
first met. It naturally condemned the Protestant beliefs so far 
as they differed from the views held by the Catholics, and it 
sanctioned those doctrines which the Catholic Church still holds. 
It accepted the pope as the head of the Church ; it declared 
accursed any one who, like Luther, believed that man would be 
saved by faith in God's promises alone ; for the Church held 
that man, with God's help, could increase his hope of salvation 
by good works. It ratified all the seven sacraments, several of 
which the Protestants had rejected. The ancient Latin transla- 
tion of the Bible — the Vulgate, as it is called — was proclaimed 

325 



326 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The " Index 1 



Results of 
the reform 
of the 
Catholic 
Church 



Ignatius 
Loyola, 
1491-1556, 
the founder 
of the 
Jesuits 



the standard of belief, and no one was to publish any views 
about the Bible differing from those approved by the Church. 

The Council suggested that the pope's officials should com- 
pile a list of dangerous books which faithful Catholics might 
not read for fear that their faith in the old Church would be 
disturbed. Accordingly, after the Council broke up, the pope 
issued the first " Index," or list of books which were not to be 
further printed or circulated on account of the false religious 
teachings they contained. Similar lists have since been printed 
from time to time. The establishment of this " Index of Pro- 
hibited Books " was one of the most famous of the Council's 
acts. It was hoped that in this way the spread of heretical and 
immoral ideas through the printing press could be checked. 

Although the Council of Trent would make no compromises 
with the Protestants, it took measures to do away with certain 
abuses of which both Protestants and devout Catholics com- 
plained. All clergymen were to attend strictly to their duties, 
and no one was to be appointed who merely wanted the income 
from his office. The bishops were ordered to preach regularly 
and to see that only good men were ordained priests. A great 
improvement actually took place — better men were placed in 
office and many practices which had formerly irritated the people 
were permanently abolished. 

Among those who, during the final sessions of the Council, 
sturdily opposed every attempt to reduce in any way the exalted 
power of the pope, was the head of a new religious society 
which was becoming the most powerful Catholic organization in 
Europe. The Jesuit order, or Society of Jesus, was founded by a 
Spaniard, Ignatius Loyola. He had been a soldier in his younger 
days, and while bravely fighting for his king, Charles V, had 
been wounded by a cannon ball (152 1). Obliged to lie inactive 
for weeks, he occupied his time in reading the lives of the saints 
and became filled with a burning ambition to emulate their 
deeds. Upon recovering, he dedicated himself to the service of 
the Church, donned a beggar's gown, and started on a pilgrimage 






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Rigid organ- 
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Objects and 
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to Jerusalem. Once there he began to realize that he could 
do little without an education. So he returned to Spain and, 
although already thirty-three years old, took his place beside 
the boys who were learning the elements of Latin grammar. 
After two years he entered a Spanish university, and later went 
to Paris to carry on his theological studies. 

In Paris he sought to influence his fellow students at the uni- 
versity, and finally, in 1534, seven of his companions agreed to 
follow him to Palestine or, if they were prevented from doing 
that, to devote themselves to the service of the pope. On arriv- 
ing in Venice they found that war had broken out between that 
republic and the Turks. They accordingly gave up their plan for 
converting the infidels in the Orient and began to preach in the 
neighboring towns. When asked to what order they belonged, 
they replied, " To the Society of Jesus." 

In 1538 Loyola summoned his followers to Rome, and there 
they worked out the principles of their order. When this had 
been done the pope gave his sanction to the new society. 1 
Loyola had been a soldier, and he laid great and constant stress 
upon absolute and unquestioning obedience. This he declared 
to be the mother of all virtue and happiness. Not only were all 
the members to obey the pope as Christ's representative on 
earth, and to undertake without hesitation any journey, no matter 
how distant or perilous, which he might command, but each was 
to obey his superiors in the order as if he were receiving direc- 
tions from Christ in person. He must have no will or prefer- 
ence of his own, but must be as the staff which supports and 
aids its bearer in any way in which he sees fit to use it. This 
admirable organization and incomparable discipline were the 
great secret of the later influence of the Jesuits. 

The object of the society was to cultivate piety and the love 
of God, especially through example. The members were to 
pledge themselves to lead a pure life of poverty and devotion. 
A great number of its members were priests, who went about 

1 See Readings, Vol. II, chap, xxviii. 



The Wars of Religion 



329 



preaching, hearing confession, and encouraging devotional exer- 
cises. But the Jesuits were teachers as well as preachers and 
confessors. They clearly perceived the advantage of bringing 
young people under their influence ; they opened schools and 
seminaries and soon became the schoolmasters of Catholic 




Fig. 86. Principal Jesuit Church in Venice 

The Jesuits believed in erecting magnificent churches. This is a good 
example. The walls are inlaid with green marble in an elaborate pat- 
tern, and all the furnishings are very rich and gorgeous 



Europe. So successful were their methods of instruction that 
even Protestants sometimes sent their children to them. 

Before the death of Loyola over a thousand persons had Rapid in- 
joined the society. Under his successor the number was trebled, jesSts^n 
and it went on increasing for two centuries. The founder of numb f rs 
the order had been, as we have seen, attracted to missionary 
work from the first, and the Jesuits rapidly spread not only 
over Europe but throughout the whole world. . Francis Xavier, 



33Q 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Their mis- 
sions and 
explorations 



Their fight 
against the 
Protestants 



Accusations 
brought 
against the 
Jesuits 



one of Loyola's original little band, went to Hindustan, the 
Moluccas, and Japan. Brazil, Florida, Mexico, and Peru were 
soon fields of active missionary work at a time when Protestants 
as yet scarcely dreamed of carrying Christianity to the heathen. 
We owe to the Jesuits' reports much of our knowledge of the con- 
dition of America when white men first began to explore Canada 
and the Mississippi valley, for the followers of Loyola boldly pene- 
trated into regions unknown to Europeans, and settled among 
the natives with the purpose of bringing the Gospel to them. 

Dedicated as they were to the service of the pope, the Jesuits 
early directed their energies against Protestantism. They sent 
their members into Germany and the Netherlands, and even 
made strenuous efforts to reclaim England. Their success was 
most apparent in southern Germany and Austria, where they 
became the confessors and confidential advisers of the rulers. 
They not only succeeded in checking the progress of Protestant- 
ism, but were able to reconquer for the Catholic Church some 
districts in which the old faith had been abandoned. 

Protestants soon realized that the new order was their most 
powerful and dangerous enemy. Their apprehensions produced 
a bitter hatred which blinded them to the high purposes of the 
founders of the order and led them to attribute an evil purpose 
to every act of the Jesuits. The Jesuits' air of humility the 
Protestants declared to be mere hypocrisy under which they 
carried on their intrigues. They were popularly supposed to 
justify the most deceitful and immoral measures on the ground 
that the result would be " for the greater glory of God." The 
very obedience on which the Jesuits laid such stress was viewed 
by the hostile Protestant as one of their worst offenses, for he 
believed that the members of the order were the blind tools of 
their superiors and that they would not hesitate even to commit 
a crime if so ordered. 1 



1 As time went on the Jesuit order degenerated just as the earlier ones had 
done. In the eighteenth century it undertook great commercial enterprises, 
and for this and other reasons lost the confidence and respect of even the 



The Wars of Religion 331 



Philip II and the Revolt of the Netherlands 

65. The chief ally of the pope and the Jesuits in their efforts Philip 11, the 
to check Protestantism in the latter half of the sixteenth century cVprotes™ 7 
was the son of Charles V, Philip II. Like the Jesuits he enjoys tantlsm 

r J J J among the 

a most unenviable reputation among Protestants. Certain it is rulers of 
that they had no more terrible enemy among the rulers of the 
day than he. He eagerly forwarded every plan to attack Eng- 
land's Protestant queen, Elizabeth, and finally manned a mighty 
fleet with the purpose of overthrowing her (see below, p. 350). 
He resorted, moreover, to great cruelty in his attempts to bring 
back his possessions in the Netherlands to what he believed to 
be the true faith. 

Charles V, crippled with the gout and old before his time, Division of 
laid down the cares of government in iSSS^SS 6 - To his P ossSion" rg 
brother Ferdinand, who had acquired by marriage the king- between the 

' M J & fc> German and 

doms of Bohemia and Hungary, Charles had earlier trans- Spanish 
ferred the German possessions of the Hapsburgs. To his 
son, Philip II (15 56-1 598), he gave Spain with its great 
American colonies, Milan, the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 
and the Netherlands. 1 

Catholics. The king of Portugal was the first to banish the Jesuits from his 
kingdom, and then France, where they had long been very unpopular with an 
influential party of the Catholics, expelled them in 1764. Convinced that the 
order had outgrown its usefulness, the pope abolished it in 1773. It was, however, 
restored in 18 14, and now again has thousands of members. 

1 Division of the Hapsburg possessions between the Spanish and the German 
branches : 

Maximilian I (d. 15 19), m. Mary of Burgundy (d. 1482) 

Philip (d. 1506), m. Joanna the Insane (d.-i555) 

I 

Charles V (d. 1558) Ferdinand (d. 1564), m. Anna, heiress to kingdoms 

Emperor, 15 19-15 56 Emperor, 1556-1564 I of Bohemia and Hungary 

Philip II (d. 1598) Maximilian II (d. 1576) 

inherits Spain, the Netherlands, Emperor, and inherits Bohemia, 

and the Italian possessions of Hungary, and the Austrian pos- 

the Hapsburgs sessions of the Hapsburgs 

The map of Europe in the sixteenth century (see above, p. 278) indicates the 
vast extent of the combined possessions of the Spanish and German Hapsburgs. 



332 Medieval a7id Modern Times 

Philip IPs Charles had constantly striven to maintain the old religion 

desire to within his dominions. He had never hesitated to use the Inqui- 

Protestantism s ^ on * n Spain and the Netherlands, and it was the great dis- 
appointment of his life that a part of his empire had become 
Protestant. He was, nevertheless, no fanatic. Like many of 
the princes of the time, he was forced to take sides on the 
religious question without, perhaps, himself having any deep 
religious sentiments. The maintenance of the Catholic faith 
he believed to be necessary in order that he should keep his 
hold upon his scattered and diverse dominions. 

On the other hand, the whole life and policy of his son Philip 
were guided by a fervent attachment to the old religion. He 
was willing to sacrifice both himself and his country in his long 
fight against the detested Protestants within and without his 
realms. And he had vast resources at his disposal, for Spain 
was a strong power, not only on account of her income from 
America, but also because her soldiers and their commanders 
were the best in Europe at this period. 
The Nether- The Netherlands, which were to cause Philip his first and 

lands 

greatest trouble, included seventeen provinces which Charles V 
had inherited from his grandmother, Mary of Burgundy. They 
occupied the position on the map where we now find the king- 
doms of Holland and Belgium. Each of the provinces had its 
own government, but Charles V had grouped them together and 
arranged that the German Empire should protect them. In the 
north the hardy Germanic population had been able, by means 
of dikes which kept out the sea, to reclaim large tracts of low- 
lands. Here considerable cities had grown up < — Harlem, 
Leyden, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. To the south were the 
flourishing towns of Ghent, Bruges, Brussels, and Antwerp, 
which had for hundreds of years been centers of manufacture 
and trade. 

Charles V, in spite of some very harsh measures, had retained 
the loyalty of the people of the Netherlands, for he was himself 
one of them, and they felt a patriotic pride in his achievements. 



The Wars of Religion 333 

Toward Philip II their attitude was very different. His haughty Philip IPs 

manner made a disagreeable impression upon the people at t ^ s e toward 

Brussels when his father first introduced him to them as their the Nether- 
lands 
future ruler. He was to them a Spaniard and a foreigner, and 

he ruled them as such after he returned to Spain. 




Fig. 87. Philip II, by Antonio Moro 

Instead of attempting to win them by meeting their legitimate 
demands, he did everything to alienate all classes in his Bur- 
gundian realm and to increase their natural hatred and suspicion 
of the Spaniards. The people were forced to house Spanish 
soldiers whose insolence drove them nearly to desperation. 

What was still worse, Philip proposed that the Inquisition The inqui- 
(see above, p. 189) should carry on its work far more actively Netherlands 
than hitherto and put an end to the heresy which appeared to 



334 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Protest 
against 
Philip's 
policy 



Philip sends 
the Duke of 
Alva to the 
Netherlands 



Alva's cruel 
administra- 
tion, 1567- 
1573 



him to defile his fair realms. The Inquisition was no new thing 
to the provinces. Charles V had issued the most cruel edicts 
against the followers of Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. According 
to a law of 1550, heretics who persistently refused to recant 
were to be burned alive. Even those who confessed their errors 
and abjured their heresy were, if men, to lose their heads ; if 
women, to be buried alive. In either case their property was 
to be confiscated. The lowest estimate of those who were 
executed in the Netherlands during Charles's reign is fifty thou- 
sand. Although these terrible laws had not checked the growth 
of Protestantism, all of Charles's decrees were solemnly re- 
enacted by Philip in the first month of his reign. 

For ten years the people suffered Philip's rule ; nevertheless 
their king, instead of listening to the protests of their leaders, 
who were quite as earnest Catholics as himself, appeared to be 
bent on the destruction of the land. So in 1566 some five hun- 
dred of the nobles ventured to protest against Philip's policy. 
Thereupon Philip took a step which led finally to the revolt of 
the Netherlands. He decided to dispatch to the low countries 
the remorseless Duke of Alva, whose conduct has made his 
name synonymous with blind and unmeasured cruelty. 

The report that Alva was coming caused the flight of many 
of those who especially feared his approach. William of Orange, 
who was to be the leader in the approaching war against Spain, 
went to Germany. Thousands of Flemish weavers fled across 
the North Sea, and the products of their looms became before 
long an important article of export from England. 

Alva brought with him a fine army of Spanish soldiers, ten 
thousand in number and superbly equipped. He appeared to 
think that the wisest and quickest way of pacifying the discon- 
tented provinces was to kill all those who ventured to criticize 
" the best of kings," of whom he had the honor to be the 
faithful servant. He accordingly established a special court 
for the speedy trial and condemnation of all those whose 
fidelity to Philip was suspected. This was popularly known as 



The Wars of Religion 335 

the Council of Blood, for its aim was not justice but butchery. The Council 
Alva's administration from 1567 to 1573 was a veritable reign 
of terror. 

The Netherlands found a leader in William, Prince of Orange William of 
and Count of Nassau. He is a national hero whose career ca uSf the 
bears a striking resemblance to that of Washington. Like the Sll ^ nt > J 533- 
American patriot, he undertook the seemingly hopeless task of 
freeing his people from the oppressive rule of a distant king. 
To the Spaniards he appeared to be only an impoverished 
nobleman at the head of a handful of armed peasants and fisher- 
men, contending against the sovereign of the richest realm in 
the world. 

William had been a faithful subject of Charles V and would William the 
gladly have continued to serve his son after him had the iect"an°army 
oppression and injustice of the Spanish dominion not become 
intolerable. But Alva's policy convinced him that it was use- 
less to send any more complaints to Philip. He accordingly 
collected a little army in 1568 and opened the long struggle 
with Spain. 

William found his main support in the northern provinces, Differences 
of which Holland was the chief. The Dutch, who had very n0 rthern 
generally accepted Protestant teachings, were purely German §** ^ 
in blood, while the people of the southern provinces, who provinces 
adhered (as they still do) to the Roman Catholic faith, were southern 
more akin to the population of northern France. 

The Spanish soldiers found little trouble in defeating the William 
troops which William collected. Like Washington, again, he governor of 
seemed to lose almost every battle and yet was never con- ^edand and 
quered. The first successes of the Dutch were gained by the 1572 
mariners who captured Spanish ships and sold them in Protestant 
England. Encouraged by this, many of the towns in the northern 
provinces of Holland and Zealand ventured to choose William 
as their governor, although they did not throw off their allegiance 
to Philip. In this way these two provinces became the nucleus 
of the United Netherlands. 



336 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Both the 

northern and 

southern 

provinces 

combine 

against 

Spain, 1576 



The " Span- 
ish fury " 



The Union 
of Utrecht 



The northern 

provinces 

declare 

themselves 

independent 

of Spain, 



Assassination 
of William 
the Silent 



Alva recaptured a number of the revolted towns and treated 
their inhabitants with his customary cruelty ; even women and 
children were slaughtered in cold blood. But instead of quench- 
ing the rebellion, he aroused the Catholic southern provinces 
to revolt. 

After six years of this tyrannical and mistaken policy, Alva 
was recalled. His successor soon died and left matters worse 
than ever. The leaderless soldiers, trained in Alva's school, 
indulged in wild orgies of robbery and murder; they plun- 
dered and partially reduced to ashes the rich city of Antwerp. 
The " Spanish fury," as this outbreak was called, together with 
the hated taxes, created such general indignation that repre- 
sentatives from all of Philip's Burgundian provinces met at 
Ghent in 1576 with the purpose of combining to put an end 
to the Spanish tyranny. 

This union was, however, only temporary. Wiser and more 
moderate governors were sent by Philip to the Netherlands, 
and they soon succeeded in again winning the confidence of 
the southern Catholic provinces. So the northern provinces went 
their own way. Guided by William the Silent, they refused to 
consider the idea of again recognizing Philip as their king. In 
1579 seven provinces (Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Gelderland, 
Overyssel, Groningen, and Friesland, all lying north of the 
mouths of the Rhine and the Scheldt) formed the new and 
firmer Union of Utrecht. The articles of this union served as 
a constitution for the United Provinces which, two years later, 
at last formally declared themselves independent of Spain. 

Philip realized that William was the soul of the revolt and 
that without him it might not improbably have been put 
down. The king therefore offered a patent of nobility and 
a large sum of money to any one who should make way with 
the Dutch patriot. After several unsuccessful attempts, William, 
who had been chosen hereditary governor of the United Prov- 
inces, was shot in his house at Delft, 1584. He died praying 
the Lord to have pity upon his soul and " on this poor people." 



The Wars of Religion 337 

The Dutch had long hoped for aid from Queen Elizabeth or Reasons why 
from the French, but had heretofore been disappointed. At finaiiy^-on 
last the English queen decided to send troops to their assistance. their \ inde ~ 

^ r pendence 

While the English rendered but little actual help, Elizabeth's 
policy so enraged Philip that he at last decided to attempt the 
conquest of England. The destruction of the " Armada," the 
great fleet which he equipped for that purpose, 1 interfered with 
further attempts to subjugate the United Provinces, which might 
otherwise have failed to maintain their liberty. Moreover, Spain's 
resources were being rapidly exhausted, and the State was on the 
verge of bankruptcy in spite of the wealth which it had been draw- independ- 
ing from across the sea. But even though Spain had to surrender united , 
the hope of winning back the lost provinces, which now became a Pr ° vmces 
small but important European power, she refused formally to edged by 
acknowledge their independence until 1 648 (Peace of Westphalia). 



The Huguenot Wars in France 

66. The history of France during the latter part of the six- Beginnings 
teenth century is little more than a chronicle of a long and ° ant ism^n 
bloody series of civil wars between the Catholics and Protestants. France 

Protestantism began in France in much the same way as in 
England. Those who had learned from the Italians to love the 
Greek language turned to the New Testament in the original 
and commenced to study it with new insight. Lef evre, the most Lefevre, 
conspicuous of these Erasmus-like reformers, translated the 
Bible into French and began to preach justification by faith 
before he had ever heard of Luther. 



HS°- l S37 



Francis I 



The Sorbonne, the famous theological school at Paris, soon Persecution 
began to arouse the suspicions of Francis I against the new t^g un d e r 
ideas. He had no special interest in religious matters, but he 
was shocked by an act of desecration ascribed to the Protestants, 
and in consequence forbade the circulation of Protestant books. 
About 1535 several adherents of the new faith were burned, 

1 See below, p. 350. 



338 



Medieval and Modern Times 



and Calvin was forced to flee to Basel, where he prepared a 
defense of his beliefs in his Institutes of Christianity (see above, 
p. 313). This is prefaced by a letter to Francis in which he pleads 
with him to protect the Protestants. 1 Francis, before his death, 
became so intolerant that he ordered the massacre of three 
thousand defenseless peasants who dwelt on the slopes of the 
Alps, and whose only offense was adherence to the simple 
teachings of the Waldensians. 2 

Francis's son, Henry II (1 547-1559), swore to extirpate the 
Protestants, and hundreds of them were burned. Nevertheless, 
Henry IPs religious convictions did not prevent him from will- 
ingly aiding the German Protestants against his enemy Charles V, 
especially when they agreed to hand over to him three bish- 
oprics which lay on the French boundary — Metz, Verdun, 
and Toul. 

Henry II was accidentally killed in a tourney and left his 
kingdom to three weak sons, the last scions of the House of 
Valois, who succeeded in turn to the throne during a period of 
unprecedented civil war and public calamity. The eldest son, 
Francis II, a boy of sixteen, followed his father. His chief im- 
portance for France arose from his marriage with the daughter 
of King James V of Scotland, Mary Stuart, who became famous 
as Mary Queen of Scots. Her mother was the sister of two 
very ambitious French nobles, the Duke of Guise and the cardinal 
of Lorraine. Francis II was so young that Mary's uncles, the 
Guises, eagerly seized the opportunity to manage his affairs for 
him. The duke put himself at the head of the army, and the 
cardinal of the government. When the king died, after reigning 
but a year, the Guises were naturally reluctant to surrender their 
power, and many of the woes of France for the next forty years 
were due to the machinations which they carried on in the name 
of the Holy Catholic religion. 

The new king, Charles IX (15 60-1 5 74), was but ten years 
old, so that his mother, Catherine of Medici, of the famous 

1 See Readings, Vol. II, chap, xxviii. 2 See above, p. 188. 



The Wars of Religion 



339 



Florentine family, claimed the right to conduct the govern- 
ment for her son until he reached manhood. 

By this time the Protestants in France had become a power- 
ful party. They were known as Huguenots 1 and accepted the 




Fig. 88. Francis II of France 

This is from a contemporaneous engraving. The boy king, the first 
husband of Mary Queen of Scots, died when he was only 17 years old 

religious teachings of their fellow countryman, Calvin. Many The Hugue- 

of them, including their great leader Coligny, belonged to the SSr political 

nobility. They had a strong support in the king of the little aims 
realm of Navarre, on the southern boundary of France. He 

1 The origin of this name is uncertain. 



340 



Medieval and Modern Times 








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The Wars of Religion 341 

belonged to a side line of the French royal house, known as The 
the Bourbons, who were later to occupy the French throne our ons 
(see genealogical table, opposite). It was inevitable that the 
Huguenots should try to get control of the government, and 
they consequently formed a political as well as a religious party 
and were often fighting, in the main, for worldly ends. 

Catherine tried at first to conciliate both Catholics and Hu- Catherine 
guenots, and granted a Decree of Toleration (1562) suspending -dSonai COn ~ 
the former edicts against the Protestants and permitting them tole ration 
to assemble for worship during the daytime and outside of the Protestants, 
towns. Even this restricted toleration of the Protestants ap- 
peared an abomination to the more fanatical Catholics, and 
a savage act of the Duke of Guise precipitated civil war. 

As he was passing through the town of Vassy on a Sunday The massa- 
he found a thousand Huguenots assembled in a barn for wor- and the aSSy 
ship. The duke's followers rudely interrupted the service, and °P enin g of 
a tumult arose in which the troops killed a considerable num- religion 
ber of the defenseless multitude. The news of this massacre 
aroused the Huguenots and was the beginning of a war which 
continued, broken only by short truces, until the last weak 
descendant of the House of Valois ceased to reign. As in the 
other religious wars of the time, both sides exhibited the most 
inhuman cruelty. France was filled for a generation with 
burnings, pillage, and every form of barbarity. The leaders 
of both the Catholic and Protestant parties, as well as two of 
the French kings themselves, fell by the hands of assassins, 
and France renewed in civil war all the horrors of the English 
invasion in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 

In 1570 a brief peace was concluded. The Huguenots were Coiigny's 

, , , . , . , J ,, influence and 

to be tolerated, and certain towns were assigned to them, p i an f or a 
where they might defend themselves in case of renewed attacks ^Shist war 
from the Catholics. For a time both Charles IX and his mother, Philip II 
Catherine of Medici, were on the friendliest terms with the Hu- 
guenot leader Coligny, who became a sort of prime minister. 
He was anxious that Catholics and Protestants should join in 



342 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Plot against 
Coligny 



Massacre of 
St. Bartholo- 
mew, 1572 



The Holy 
League 



Question of 
the succes- 
sion to 
the French 
throne 



a great national war against France's old enemy, Spain. In this 
way the whole people of France might sink their religious dif- 
ferences in a patriotic effort to win Franche-Comte' (see above, 
p. 279), which seemed naturally to belong to France rather 
than to Spain. 

The strict Catholic party of the Guises frustrated this plan 
by a most fearful expedient. They easily induced Catherine 
of Medici to believe that she was being deceived by Coligny, 
and an assassin was engaged to put him out of the way; but 
the scoundrel missed his aim and only wounded his victim. 
Fearful lest the young king, who was faithful to Coligny, 
should discover her part in the attempted murder, Catherine 
invented a story of a great Huguenot conspiracy. The credu- 
lous king was deceived, and the Catholic leaders at Paris ar- 
ranged that at a given signal not only Coligny, but all the 
Huguenots, who had gathered in great numbers in the city to 
witness the marriage of the king's sister to the Protestant Henry 
of Navarre, should be massacred on the eve of St. Bartholomew's 
Day (August 23, 1572). 

The signal was duly given, and no less than two thousand 
persons were ruthlessly murdered in Paris before the end of 
the next day. The news of this attack spread into the prov- 
inces, and it is probable that, at the very least, ten thousand 
more Protestants were . put to death outside of the capital. 
Civil war again broke out, and the Catholics formed the famous 
Holy League, under the leadership of Henry of Guise, for the 
advancement of their interests, the destruction of the Hugue- 
nots, and the extirpation of heresy. 

Henry III (15 7 4-1 589), the last of the sons of Henry II, 
who succeeded Charles IX, had no heirs, and the great question 
of succession arose. The Huguenot Henry of Navarre was 
the nearest male relative, but the League could never consent 
to permit the throne of France to be sullied by heresy, espe- 
cially as their leader, Henry of Guise, was himself anxious to 
become king. 



The Wars of Religion 343 

Henry III was driven weakly from one party to the other, War of the 
and it finally came to a war between the three Henrys — Henrys, 
Henry III, Henry of Navarre, and Henry of Guise (1 585-1 589). x 5 8 5-i5S9 
It ended in a way characteristic of the times. Henry the king 
had Henry of Guise assassinated. The sympathizers of the 




Fig. 89. Henry IV of France 

This spirited portrait of Henry of Navarre gives an excellent 
impression of his geniality and good sense 

League then assassinated Henry the king, which left the field 
to Henry of Navarre. He ascended the throne as Henry IV 
in 1589 and is an heroic figure in the line of French kings. 

The new king had many enemies, and his kingdom was Henry iv, 
devastated and demoralized by years of war. He soon saw that becomes a 
he must accept the religion of the majority of his people if he 
wished to reign over them. He accordingly asked to be read- 
mitted to the Catholic Church (1593), excusing himself on the 



Catholic 



344 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Edict of 
Nantes, i;q8 



Ministry of 
Sully 



Assassination 
of Henry IV, 
1610 



Richelieu 



ground that " Paris was worth a mass." He did not forget his 
old friends, however, and in 1598 he issued the Edict of Nantes. 

By this edict of toleration the Calvinists were permitted to 
hold services in all the towns and villages where they had pre- 
viously held them, but in Paris and a number of other towns 
all Protestant services were prohibited. The Protestants were 
to enjoy the same political rights as Catholics, and to be eligible 
to government offices. A number of fortified towns were to 
remain in the hands of the Huguenots, particularly La Rochelle, 
Montauban, and Nimes. Henry's only mistake lay in granting 
the Huguenots the right to control fortified towns. In the next 
generation this privilege aroused the suspicion of the king's 
minister, Richelieu, who attacked the Huguenots, not so much 
on religious grounds as on account of their independent position 
in the state, which suggested that of the older feudal nobles. 

Henry IV chose Sully, an upright and able Calvinist, for his 
chief minister. Sully set to work to reestablish the kingly power, 
which had suffered greatly under the last three brothers of the 
House of Valois. He undertook to lighten the tremendous burden 
of debt which weighed upon the country. He laid out new roads 
and canals, and encouraged agriculture and commerce ; he dis- 
missed the useless noblemen and officers whom the government 
was supporting without any advantage to itself. Had his ad- 
ministration not been prematurely interrupted, it might have 
brought France unprecedented power and prosperity ; but reli- 
gious fanaticism put an end to his reforms. 

In 1 610 Henry IV, like William the Silent, was assassinated 
just in the midst of his greatest usefulness to his country. Sully 
could not agree with the regent, Henry's widow, and so gave 
up his position and retired to private life. 

Before many years Richelieu, perhaps the greatest minister 
France has ever had, rose to power, and from 1624 to his death 
in 1642 he governed France for Henry IV's son, Louis XIII 
(16 1 0-1643). Something will be said of his policy in connec- 
tion with the Thirty Years' War (see section 68). 



The Wars of Religion 345 

England under Queen Elizabeth 

67. The long and disastrous civil war between Catholics and England 
Protestants, which desolated France in the sixteenth century, beth, 15 58-" 
had happily no counterpart in England. During her long reign l6 ° 3 
Queen Elizabeth succeeded not only in maintaining peace at 
home, but in frustrating the conspiracies and attacks of Philip II, 
which threatened her realm from without. Moreover, by her 
interference in the Netherlands, she did much to secure their 
independence of Spain. 

Upon the death of Catholic Mary and the accession of her Elizabeth 
sister Elizabeth in 1558, the English government became once p ro testant 
more Protestant. The new queen had a new revised edition service and 

n establishes 

issued of the Book of Common Prayer which had been pre- the Church 

. . of England 

pared in the time of her brother, Edward VI. This contained 
the services which the government ordered to be performed in 
all the churches of England. All her subjects were required to 
accept the queen's views and to go to church, and ministers 
were to use nothing but the official prayer book. Elizabeth did 
not adopt the Presbyterian system advocated by Calvin but 
retained many features of the Catholic church, including the 
bishops and archbishops. So the Anglican church followed a 
middle path halfway between Lutherans and Calvinists on the 
one hand and Catholics on the other. 

The Catholic churchmen who had held positions under Queen 
Mary were naturally dismissed and replaced by those who would 
obey Elizabeth and use her Book of Prayer. Her first Parlia- 
ment gave the sovereign the powers of supreme head of the 
Church of England, although the title, which her father, Henry 
VIII, had assumed, was not revived. 

The Church of England still exists in much the same form in The English 
which it was established in the first years of Elizabeth's reign and sur vives in 
the prayer book is still used, although Englishmen are no longer ^"^"^ 
required to attend church and may hold any religious views they 
please without being interfered with by the government. 



346 



Medieval and Modern Times 



While England adopted a middle course in religious matters 
Scotland became Presbyterian, and this led to much trouble for 
Elizabeth. There, shortly after her accession, the ancient Cath- 
olic Church was abolished, for the nobles were anxious to get 




Fig. 90. Portrait of Queen Elizabeth 

Elizabeth deemed herself a very handsome and imposing person. She 

was fond of fine clothes and doubtless had on her best when she sat 

for her portrait 



the lands of the bishops into their own hands and enjoy the 
revenue from them. John Knox, a veritable second Calvin in his 
stern energy, secured the introduction of the Presbyterian form 
of faith and church government which still prevail in Scotland. 



The Wars of Religion 347 

In 1 56 1 the Scotch queen, Mary Stuart, whose French hus- Mary Stuart, 
band, Francis II, had just died, landed at Leith. She was but qU een C ° 
nineteen years old, of great beauty and charm, and, by reason becomes the 
of her Catholic faith and French training, almost a foreigner to Catholics 
her subjects. Her grandmother was a sister of Henry VIII, 
and Mary claimed to be the rightful heiress to the English 
throne should Elizabeth die childless. Consequently the beau- 
tiful Queen of Scots became the hope of all those who wished 
to bring back England and Scotland to the Roman Catholic 
faith. Chief among these were Philip II of Spain and Mary's 
relatives the Guises in France. 

Mary quickly discredited herself with both Protestants and Mary's 
Catholics by her conduct. After marrying her second cousin, conduct" 8 
Lord Darnley, she discovered that he was a dissolute scape- 
grace and came to despise him. She then formed an attach- 
ment for a reckless nobleman named Bothwell. The house 
near Edinburgh in which Darnley was lying ill was blown up 
one night with gunpowder, and he was killed. The public sus- 
pected that both Bothwell and the queen were implicated. How 
far Mary was responsible for her husband's death no one can 
be sure. It is certain that she later married Bothwell and that 
her indignant subjects thereupon deposed her as a murderess. 
After fruitless attempts to regain her power, she abdicated in Mary flees 
favor of her infant son, James VI, and then fled to England to i° 6 s ng an ' 
appeal to Elizabeth. While the prudent Elizabeth denied the 
right of -the Scotch to depose their queen, she took good care 
to keep her rival practically a prisoner. 

As time went on it became increasingly difficult for Elizabeth The rising in 
to adhere to her policy of moderation in the treatment of the I5 6 9 , and'the 
Catholics. A rising in the north of England (1569) showed 5^°^ 
that there were many who would gladly reestablish the Catholic deposing 

J Elizabeth 

faith by freeing Mary and placing her on the English throne. 
This was followed by the excommunication of Elizabeth by the 
pope, who at the same time absolved her subjects from their 
allegiance to their heretical ruler. Happily for Elizabeth the 



348 



Medieval and Modern Times 



English 

mariners 

capture 

Spanish 

ships 



Relations 
between 
England and 
Catholic 
Ireland 



rebels could look for no help either from Philip II or the French 
king. The Spaniards had their hands full, for the war in the 
Netherlands had just begun ; and Charles IX, who had accepted 
Coligny as his adviser, was at that moment in hearty accord 
with the Huguenots. The rising in the north was suppressed, 
but the English Catholics continued to look to Philip for help. 
They opened correspondence with Alva and invited him to 
come with six thousand Spanish troops to dethrone Elizabeth 
and make Mary Stuart queen of England in her stead. Alva 
hesitated, for he characteristically thought that it would be better 
to kill Elizabeth, or at least capture her. Meanwhile the plot 
was discovered and came to naught. 

Although Philip found himself unable to harm England, the 
English mariners caused great loss to Spain. In spite of the 
fact that Spain and England were not openly at war, Elizabeth's 
seamen extended their operations as far as the West Indies, 
and seized Spanish treasure ships, with the firm conviction that 
in robbing Philip they were serving God. The daring Sir Francis 
Drake even ventured into the Pacific, where only the Spaniards 
had gone heretofore, and carried off much booty on his little 
vessel, the Pelican. At last he took " a great vessel with jewels 
in plenty, thirteen chests of silver coin, eighty pounds weight of 
gold, and twenty-six tons of silver." He then sailed around the 
world, and on his return presented his jewels to Elizabeth, who 
paid little attention to the expostulations of the king of Spain. 

One hope of the Catholics has not yet been mentioned, 
namely, Ireland, whose relations with England from very early 
times down to the present day form one of the most cheerless 
pages in the history of Europe. The population was divided 
into numerous clans, and their chieftains fought constantly with 
one another as well as with the English, who were vainly 
endeavoring to subjugate the island. Under Henry II and 
later kings England had conquered a district in the eastern 
part of Ireland, and here the English managed to maintain a 
foothold in spite of the anarchy outside. Henry VIII had 



The Wars of Religion 349 

suppressed a revolt of the Irish and assumed the title of king of 
Ireland. Queen Mary of England had hoped to promote better 
relations by colonizing Kings County and Queens County with 
Englishmen. This led, however, to a long struggle which only 
ended when the colonists had killed all the natives in the district 
they occupied. 

Elizabeth's interest in the perennial Irish question was stim- 
ulated by the probability that Ireland might become a basis for 
Catholic operations, since Protestantism had made little progress 
among its people. Her fears were realized. Several attempts 
were made by Catholic leaders to land troops in Ireland with the 
purpose of making the island the base for an attack on England. 
Elizabeth's officers were able to frustrate these enterprises, but 
the resulting disturbances greatly increased the misery of the 
Irish. In 1582 no less than thirty thousand people are said to 
have perished, chiefly from starvation. 

As Philip's troops began to get the better of the opposition Persecution 
in the southern Netherlands, the prospect of sending a Spanish English 
army to England grew brighter. Two Jesuits were sent to Eng- Cathollcs 
land in 1580 to strengthen the adherents of their faith and urge 
them to assist the foreign force against their queen when it should 
come. Parliament now grew more intolerant and ordered fines 
and imprisonment to be inflicted on those who said or heard 
mass, or who refused to attend the English services. One of 
the Jesuit emissaries was cruelly tortured and executed for 
treason, the other escaped to the Continent. 

In the spring of 1582 the first attempt by the Catholics to Plans to 
assassinate the heretical queen was made at Philip's instigation. EHzabeth 6 
It was proposed that, when Elizabeth was out of the way, the 
Duke of Guise should see that an army was sent to England in 
the interest of the Catholics. But Guise was kept busy at home 
by the War of the Three Henrys, and Philip was left to under- 
take the invasion of England by himself. 

Mary Queen of Scots did not live to witness the attempt. 
She became implicated in another plot for the assassination of 



35o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Elizabeth. Parliament now realized that as long as Mary lived 
Elizabeth's life was in constant danger ; whereas, if Mary were 
out of the way, Philip II would have no interest in the death 
of Elizabeth, since Mary's son, James VI of Scotland, who 
would succeed Elizabeth on the English throne, was a Protestant. 
Elizabeth was therefore reluctantly persuaded by her advisers 
to sign a warrant for Mary's execution in 1587. 

Philip II, however, by no means gave up his project of re- 
claiming Protestant England. In 1588 he brought together a 
great fleet, including his best and largest warships, which was 
proudly called by the Spaniards the " Invincible Armada " (that 
is, fleet). This was to sail through the English Channel to the 
Netherlands and bring over the Duke of Parma and his veterans, 
who, it was expected, would soon make an end of Elizabeth's 
raw militia. The English ships were inferior to those of Spain in 
size although not in number, but they had trained commanders, 
such as Francis Drake and Hawkins. 

These famous captains had long sailed the Spanish Main and 
knew how to use their cannon without getting near enough to 
the Spaniards to suffer from their short-range weapons. When 
the Armada approached, it was permitted by the English fleet 
to pass up the Channel before a strong wind, which later became 
a storm. The English ships then followed, and both fleets were 
driven past the coast of Flanders. Of the hundred and twenty 
Spanish ships, only fifty-four returned home ; the rest had been 
destroyed by English valor or by the gale to which Elizabeth 
herself ascribed the victory. The defeat of the Armada put an 
end to the danger from Spain. 



As we look back over the period covered by the reign of 
Philip II, it is clear that it was a most notable one in the history 
of the Catholic Church. When he ascended the throne in 1556 
Germany, as well as Switzerland and the Netherlands, had be- 
come largely Protestant. England, however, under his Catholic 
wife, Mary, seemed to be turning back to the old religion, while 



The Wars of Religion 351 

the French monarchs showed no inclination to tolerate the heret- 
ical Calvinists. Moreover, the new and enthusiastic order of 
the Jesuits promised to be a powerful agency in inducing the 
Protestants to accept once more the supremacy of the pope 
and the doctrines of the Catholic Church as formulated by the 
Council of Trent. The tremendous power and apparently 
boundless resources of Spain itself, which were viewed by the 
rest of Europe with terror, Philip was prepared to dedicate to 
the destruction of Protestantism throughout western Europe. 

But when Philip II died in 1598 all was changed. England Outcome of 
was hopelessly Protestant : the " Invincible Armada " had been po ii C y s 
miserably wrecked and Philip's plan for bringing England once 
more within the fold of the Roman Catholic Church was for- 
ever frustrated. In France the terrible wars of religion were 
over, and a powerful king, lately a Protestant himself, was on 
the throne, who not only tolerated the Protestants but chose 
one of them for his chief minister and would brook no more 
meddling of Spain in French affairs. A new Protestant state, the 
United Netherlands, had actually appeared within the bounds 
of the realm bequeathed to Philip by his father. In spite of its 
small size this state was destined to play, from that time on, 
quite as important a part in European affairs as the harsh 
Spanish stepmother from whose control it had escaped. 

Spain itself had suffered most of all from Philip's reign. His Decline of 
domestic policy and his expensive wars had sadly weakened the th^Sxteemt 
country. The income from across the sea was bound to decrease centur y 
as the mines were exhausted. The final expulsion of the in- 
dustrious Moors, shortly after Philip's death (see above, p. 272), 
left the indolent Spaniards to till their own fields, which rapidly 
declined in fertility under their careless cultivation. Some one 
once ventured to tell a Spanish king that " not gold and silver 
but sweat is the most precious metal, a coin which is always 
current and never depreciates " ; but it was a rare form of cur- 
rency in the Spanish peninsula. After Philip IPs death Spain 
sank to the rank of a secondary European power. 



352 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Thirty Years' War 



The Thirty 
Years' War 
really a 
series of 
wars 



Weaknesses 
of the Peace 
of Augsburg 



Spread of 
Protestant- 



Opening of 
the Thirty 
Years' War, 
1618 



68. The last great conflict caused by the differences between 
the Catholics and Protestants was fought out in Germany during 
the first half of the seventeenth century. It is generally known 
as the Thirty Years' War (16 18-1648), but there was in reality 
a series of wars ; and although the fighting was done upon 
German territory, Sweden, France, and Spain played quite as 
important a part in the struggle as the various German states. 

Just before the abdication of Charles V, the Lutheran princes 
had forced the emperor to acknowledge their right to their own 
religion and to the church property which they had appropriated. 
The religious Peace of Augsburg had, however, as we have 
seen, 1 two great weaknesses. In the first place only those 
Protestants who held the Lutheran faith were to be tolerated. 
The Calvinists, who were increasing in numbers, were not in- 
cluded in the peace. In the second place the peace did not 
put a stop to the seizure of church property by the Protestant 
princes. 

Protestantism, however, made rapid progress and invaded the 
Austrian possessions and, above all, Bohemia. So it looked for 
a time as if even the Catholic Hapsburgs were to see large por- 
tions of their territory falling away from the old Church. But 
the Catholics had in the Jesuits a band of active and efficient 
missionaries. They not only preached and founded schools, but 
also succeeded in gaining the confidence of some of the German 
princes, whose chief advisers they became. Conditions were 
very favorable, at the opening of the seventeenth century, for a 
renewal of the religious struggle. 

The long war began in Bohemia in 1618. This portion of 
the Austrian possessions was strongly Protestant and decided 
that the best policy was to declare its independence of the Haps- 
burgs and set up a king of its own. It chose Frederick, the 
elector of the Palatinate, a Calvinist who would, it was hoped, 

1 See above, p. 309. 



The Wars of Religion 353 

enjoy the support of his father-in-law, King James I of England. 1 
So Frederick and his English wife moved from Heidelberg 
to Prague. But their stay there was brief, for the Hapsburg 
emperor (Ferdinand II) with the aid of the ruler of Bavaria put 
to flight the poor "winter king," as Frederick was called on 
account of his reign of a single season. 

This was regarded as a serious defeat by the Protestants, Denmark 
and the Protestant king of Denmark decided to intervene. He m ervenes 
remained in Germany for four years, but was so badly beaten by 
the emperor's able general, Wallenstein, that he retired from 
the conflict in 1629. 

The emperor was encouraged by the successes of the Catho- The Edict of 
lie armies in defeating the Bohemian and Danish Protestant ^29 ' 

armies to issue that same year an Edict of Restitution. In this 
he ordered the Protestants throughout Germany to give back 
all the church possessions which they had seized since the reli- 
gious Peace of Augsburg (1555). These included two arch- 
bishoprics (Magdeburg and Bremen), nine bishoprics, about one 
hundred and twenty monasteries, and other church foundations. 
Moreover, he decreed that only the Lutherans might hold re- 
ligious meetings ; the other " sects," including the Calvinists, 
were to be broken up. As Wallenstein was preparing to exe- 
cute this decree in his usual merciless fashion, the war took a 
new turn. 

The Catholic League, which had been formed some time be- Dismissal of 
fore, had become jealous of a general who threatened to become appearance 1 ' 
too powerful, and it accordingly joined in the complaints, which a^ 6 / 11 ^ 11 ^ 
came from every side, of the terrible extortions and incredible Sweden, 
cruelty practiced by Wallenstein's troops. The emperor con- 3 
sented, therefore, to dismiss this most competent commander. 
Just as the Catholics were thus weakened, a new enemy ar- 
rived upon the scene who proved far more dangerous than 
any they had yet had to face, namely Gustavus Adolphus, 
king of Sweden. 

1 James VI of Scotland who succeeded Queen Elizabeth in 1603. 



354 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The kingdom 
of Sweden 



Gustavus 
Vasa, 1523- 
1560 



Motives of 

Gustavus 

Adolphus in 

invading 

Germany, 

1630 



Destruction 
of Magde- 
burg, 163 1 



Gustavus 
Adolphus 
victorious at 
Breitenfeld, 
163 1 



We have had no occasion hitherto to speak of the Scandinavian 
kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which the northern 
German peoples had established about Charlemagne's time ; but 
from now on they begin to take part in the affairs of central 
Europe. The Union of Calmar (1397) had brought these three 
kingdoms, previously separate, under a single ruler. About the 
time that the Protestant revolt began in Germany the union was 
broken by the withdrawal of Sweden, which became an independ- 
ent kingdom. Gustavus Vasa, a Swedish noble, led the move- 
ment and was subsequently chosen king of Sweden (1523). In 
the same year Protestantism was introduced. Vasa confiscated 
the church lands, got the better of the aristocracy, — who had 
formerly made the kings a great deal of trouble, — and started 
Sweden on its way toward national greatness. 

Gustavus Adolphus (1 594-1 632) was induced to invade 
Germany for two reasons. In the first place, he was a sincere 
and enthusiastic Protestant and by far the most generous and 
attractive figure of his time. He was genuinely afflicted by the 
misfortunes of his Protestant brethren and anxious to devote 
himself to their welfare. Secondly, he undoubtedly hoped by 
his invasion not only to free his fellow Protestants from the 
oppression of the Emperor and of the Catholic League, but 
to gain a strip of German territory for Sweden. 

Gustavus was not received with much cordiality at first by 
the Protestant princes of the north, but they were brought to 
their senses by the awful destruction of Magdeburg by the troops 
of the Catholic League under General Tilly. Magdeburg was 
the most important town of northern Germany. When it finally 
succumbed after an obstinate and difficult siege, twenty thousand 
of its inhabitants were killed and the town burned to the ground. 
Although Tilly's reputation for cruelty is quite equal to that of 
Wallenstein, he was probably not responsible for the fire. After 
Gustavus Adolphus had met Tilly near Leipsic and victoriously 
routed the army of the League, the Protestant princes began to 
look with more favor on the foreigner. 



The Wars of Religion 355 

The next spring Gustavus entered Bavaria and once more Wallenstein 
defeated Tilly (who was mortally wounded in the battle) and 
forced Munich to surrender. There seemed now to be no rea- 
son why he should not continue his progress to Vienna. At 
this juncture the emperor recalled Wallenstein, who collected a 
new army over which he was given absolute command. After 
some delay Gustavus met Wallenstein on the field of Liitzen, Gustavus 
in November, 1632, where, after a fierce struggle, the Swedes kiiiecfat 15 
gained the victory. But they lost their leader and Protestantism Lutzen > 1632 
its hero, for the Swedish king ventured too far into the lines of 
the enemy and was surrounded and killed. 

The Swedes did not, however, retire from Germany, but Murder of 
continued to participate in the war, which now degenerated 
into a series of raids by leaders whose soldiers depopulated 
the land by their unspeakable atrocities. Wallenstein, who 
had long been detested by even the Catholics, was deserted 
by his soldiers and murdered (in 1634), to the great relief 
of all parties. 

Just at this moment Richelieu 1 decided that it would be to Richelieu 
the interest of France to renew the old struggle with the Haps- struggle of 
burgs by sending troops against the emperor. France was still J^st the 
shut in, as she had been since the time of Charles V, by the Hapsburgs 
Hapsburg lands. Except on the side toward the ocean her 
boundaries were in the main artificial ones, and not those estab- 
lished by great rivers and mountains. She therefore longed to 
weaken her enemy and strengthen herself by winning Roussillon 
on the south, and so make the crest of the Pyrenees the line of 
demarcation between France and Spain. She dreamed, too, of ex- 
tending her sway toward the Rhine by adding the county of Bur- 
gundy (that is, Franche-Comte) and a number of fortified towns 
which' would afford protection against the Spanish Netherlands. 

Richelieu declared war against Spain in May, 1635. He had Richelieu's 
already concluded an alliance with the chief enemies of the ™ ro i ngs 
House of Austria. So the war was renewed, and French, thewar 

1 See above, p. 344. 



356 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Swedish, Spanish, and German soldiers ravaged an already 
exhausted country for a decade longer. The dearth of provi- 
sions was so great that the armies had to move quickly from 
place to place in order to avoid starvation. After a serious de- 
feat by the Swedes, the emperor (Ferdinand III, 163 7-1 65 7) 




Fig. 91. Portrait of Cardinal Richelieu, from a 
Contemporaneous Painting 



France suc- 
ceeds Spain 
in the 
military 
supremacy 
of western 
Europe 



sent a Dominican monk to expostulate with Cardinal Richelieu 
for his crime in aiding the German and Swedish heretics against 
Catholic Austria. 

The cardinal had, however, just died (December, 1642), 
well content with the results of his diplomacy. The French 
were in possession of Roussillon and of Lorraine and Alsace. 
The military exploits of the French generals, especially Turenne 
and Conde', during the opening years of the reign of Louis XIV 



The Wars of Religion 357 

(1643-17 1 5), showed that a new period had begun in which 
the military and political supremacy of Spain was to give way 
to that of France (see Chapter XVIII). 

The participants in the war were now so numerous and their Close of the 
objects so various and conflicting that it is not strange that it war^s"^ 
required some years to arrange the conditions of peace, even 
after every one was ready for it. It was agreed (1644) that 
France and the Empire should negotiate at Minister, and the 
emperor and the Swedes at Osnabriick — both of which towns 
lie in Westphalia. For four years the representatives of the 
several powers worked upon the difficult problem of satisfying 
every one, but at last the treaties of Westphalia were signed 
late in 1648. 

The religious troubles in Germany were settled by extending Provisions 
the toleration of the Peace of Augsburg so as to include the treaties of 
Calvinists as well as the Lutherans. The Protestant princes West P halia 
were to retain the lands which they had in their possession in 
the year 1624, regardless of the Edict of Restitution, and each 
ruler was still to have the right to determine the religion of his 
state. The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was practi- 
cally acknowledged by permitting the individual states to make 
treaties among themselves and with foreign powers ; this was 
equivalent to recognizing the practical independence which they 
had, as a matter of fact, already long enjoyed. While portions 
of northern Germany were ceded to Sweden, this territory did 
not cease to form a part of the Empire, for Sweden was thereafter 
to have three votes in the German diet. 

The emperor also ceded to France three important towns — 
Metz, Verdun, and Toul — and all his rights in Alsace, although 
the city of Strassburg was to remain with the Empire. Lastly, the 
independence both of the United Netherlands and of Switzer- 
land was acknowledged. 

The accounts of the misery and depopulation of Germany Disastrous 
caused by the Thirty Years' War are well-nigh incredible. t h e war in 
Thousands of villages were wiped out altogether ; in some German y 



358 



Medieval and Modern Times 



regions the population was reduced by one half, in others to 
a third, or even less, of what it had been at the opening of the 
conflict. The flourishing city of Augsburg was left with but 
sixteen thousand souls instead of eighty thousand. The people 
were fearfully barbarized by privation and suffering and by the 
atrocities of the soldiers of all the various nations. Until the 
end of the eighteenth century Germany remained too exhausted 
and impoverished to make any considerable contribution to the 
culture of Europe. 



The new 
science 



The dis- 
covery of 
Copernicus 



The Beginnings of our Scientific Age 

69. The battles of the Thirty Years' War are now well-nigh 
forgot, and few people are interested in Tilly and Wallenstein and 
Gustavus Adolphus. It seems as if the war did little but destroy 
men's lives and property, and that no great ends were accom- 
plished by all the suffering it involved. But during the years 
that it raged certain men were quietly devoting themselves to 
scientific research which was to change the world more than all 
the battles that have ever been fought. These men adopted a 
new method. They perceived that the books of ancient writers, 
especially Aristotle, which were used as textbooks in the univer- 
sities, were full of statements that could not be proved. They 
maintained that the only way to advance science was to set to 
work and try experiments, and by careful thought and investi- 
gation to determine the laws of nature without regard to what 
previous generations had thought. 

The Polish astronomer Copernicus published a work in 
1543 in which he refuted the old idea that the sun and all the 
stars revolved around the earth as a center, as was then taught 
in all the universities. He showed that, on the contrary, the 
sun was the center about which the earth and the rest of the 
planets revolved, and that the reason that the stars seem to go 
around the earth each day is because our globe revolves on its 
axis. Although Copernicus had been encouraged to write his 



The Wars of Religion 359 

book by a cardinal and had dedicated it to the pope, the Catholic 
as well as the Protestant theologians declared that the new theory 
did not correspond with the teachings of the Bible, and they 
therefore rejected it. But we know now that Copernicus was 




Fig. 92. Galileo 

right and the theologians and universities wrong. The earth is 
a mere speck in the universe, and even the sun is a relatively 
small body compared with many of the stars, and so far as we 
know the universe as a whole has no center. 

The Italian scientist Galileo (15 64-1 642), by the use of a Galileo 
little telescope he contrived, was able in 1610 to see the spots 



360 



Medieval and Modern Times 



on the sun ; these indicated that the sun was not, as Aristotle 
had taught, a perfect, unchanging body, and showed also that 
it revolved on its axis, as Copernicus had guessed that the earth 
did. Galileo made careful experiments by dropping objects from 




Fig. 93. Rene Descartes 

the leaning tower of Pisa (Fig. 45), which proved that Aristotle 
was wrong in assuming that a body weighing a hundred pounds 
fell a hundred times as fast as a body weighing but one. To 
Galileo we owe, besides, many new ideas in the science of me- 
chanics. He wrote in Italian as well as Latin, and this, too, gave 
offense to those who pinned their faith to Aristotle. They would 



The Wars of Religion 361 

have forgiven Galileo if he had confined his discussions to the 
learned who could read Latin, but they thought it highly dan- 
gerous to have the new ideas set forth in such a way that the 
people at large might find out about them and so come to doubt 
what the theologians and universities were teaching. Galileo 
was finally summoned before the Inquisition and some of his 
theories condemned by the church authorities. 

Just as the Thirty Years' War was beginning, a young French- Descartes 
man by the name of Descartes had finished his education at a 
Jesuit college and decided to get some knowledge of the world 
by going into the war for a short time. He did much more 
thinking than fighting, however. wSitting by the stove during the 
winter lull in hostilities, deep in meditation, it occurred to him 
one day that he had no reason for believing anything. He saw 
that everything that he accepted had come to him on the authority 
of some one else, and he failed to see any reason why the old 
authorities should be right. So he boldly set to work to think 
out a wholly new philosophy that should be entirely the result 
of his own reasoning. He decided, in the first place, that one 
thing at least was true. He was thinking, and therefore he must 
exist. This he expressed in Latin in the famous phrase Cogito, 
ergo sum, " I think, therefore I am." He also decided that God 
must exist and that He had given men such good minds that, if 
they only used them carefully, they would not be deceived in 
the conclusions they reached. In short, Descartes held that clear 
thoughts must be true thoughts. 

Descartes not only founded modern philosophy, he was also Work of 
greatly interested in science and mathematics. He was impressed 
by the wonderful discovery of Harvey in regard to the circulation 
of the blood (see below, p. 367), which he thought well illustrated 
what scientific investigation might accomplish. His most famous 
book, called An Essay on Method, was written in French and 
addressed to intelligent men who did not know Latin. He says 
that those who use their own heads are much more likely to 
reach the truth than those who read old Latin books. Descartes 



362 



Medieval and Modem Times 



wrote clear textbooks on algebra and that branch of mathematics 

known as analytical geometry, of which he was the discoverer. 

Francis Bacon, an English lawyer and government official, 

spent his spare hours explaining how men could increase their 




Fig. 94. Francis Bacon 



Francis 
Bacon's 

New Atlantis 



knowledge. He too wrote in his native tongue as well as in Latin. 
He was the most eloquent representative of the new science 
which renounced authority and relied upon experiment. " We 
are the ancients," he declared, not those who lived long ago 
when the world was young and men ignorant. Late in life 
he wrote a little book, which he never finished, called the 



The Wars of Religion 363 

New Atla?itis. It describes an imaginary state which some Euro- 
peans were supposed to have come upon in the Pacific Ocean. 
The chief institution was a " House of Solomon," a great 
laboratory for carrying on scientific investigation in the hope of 
discovering new facts and using them for bettering the condi- 
tion of the inhabitants. This House of Solomon became a sort 
of model for the Royal Academy, which was established in 
London some fifty years after Bacon's death. Ifstill exists and 
still publishes its proceedings regularly. 

The earliest societies for scientific research grew up in Italy. Scientific 
Later the English Royal Society and the French Institute were founded 
established, as well as similar associations in Germany. These 
were the first things of the kind in the history of the world. 
Their object was not, like that of the old Greek schools of 
philosophy and the medieval universities, merely to hand down 
the knowledge derived from the past, but to find out what had 
never been known before. 

We have seen how in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries 
new inventions were made, such as the compass, paper, specta- 
cles, gunpowder, and, in the fifteenth century, the printing press. 
But in the seventeenth century progress began to be much 
more rapid, and an era of invention opened, in the midst of 
which we still live. The microscope and telescope made it pos- 
sible to discover innumerable scientific truths that were hidden 
to the Greeks and Romans. In time this scientific advance 
produced a spirit of reform, also new in the world (see below, 
Chapter XIX). 

QUESTIONS 

Section 64. What were the chief results of the Council of Trent? 
Why did the Protestants refuse to take part in it ? Give an account 
of the life of Loyola. What were the objects of the Jesuit order? 
What accusations did the Protestants bring against the society ? 

Section 65. What are your impressions of Philip II ? How did 
it come about that the Netherlands belonged to Spain? Describe 



364 Medieval and Modern Times 

Philip's policy in dealing with the Netherlands. How did the United 
Netherlands gain their independence ? 

Section 66. What were the religious conditions in France when 
Charles IX and Catherine of Medici came into power? What was 
the character of the Huguenot party? Describe the massacre of 
St. Bartholomew. How did Henry IV become king? What was the 
Edict of Nantes ? 

Section 67. What measures did Queen Elizabeth take in reli- 
gious matters?* How did the English Church originate? Tell the 
story of Mary Queen of Scots. What was the policy of Philip II in 
regard to Elizabeth? What were the general results of Philip IPs 
reign ? 

Section 68. W T hat was the origin of the Thirty Years' War? 
What led the Swedish king to intervene ? What did the Swedes gain 
by the intervention ? Why did Richelieu send troops to fight in the 
war ? What were the chief provisions of the Treaty of Westphalia ? 
What were the other results of the war? 

Section 69. What is the difference between modern scientific 
research and the spirit of the medieval universities? Describe the 
discoveries of Copernicus. What did Galileo accomplish? Give the 
views of Descartes. What was the position of Francis Bacon in regard 
to scientific research? What was the " House of Solomon"? 

What societies were established for scientific investigation ? Can 
you think of some of the effects that modern science has had on the 
lives of mankind ? 



CHAPTER XVII 

STRUGGLE IN ENGLAND BETWEEN KING AND PARLIAMENT 

James I and the Divine Right of Kings 

70. On the death of Elizabeth in 1603, James I, the first of the Accession of 
Scotch family of Stuart, ascended the throne. It will be remem- Scotland as 
bered that he was the son of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and J am ^ s : of 
through her a descendant of Henry VII (see table, p. 340). In 1603 
Scotland he reigned as James VI ; consequently the two king- 
doms were now brought together under the same ruler. This 
did not, however, make the relations between the two countries 
much more cordial than they had been in the past. 

The chief interest of the period of the Stuarts, which began chief interest 
with the accession of James I in 1603 and ended with the flight °f the Stuarts 
from England of his grandson, James II, eighty-five years later, 
is the long and bitter struggle between the kings and Parlia- 
ment. The vital question was, Should the Stuart kings, who 
claimed to be God's representatives on earth, do as they thought 
fit, or should Parliament control them and the government of 
the country ? 

We have seen how the English Parliament originated in the The attitude 
time of Edward I and how his successors were forced to pay ° ward U< 
attention to its wishes (see above, pp. 127 ff.). Under the Parhament 
Tudors — that is, from the time of Henry VII to Elizabeth — the 
monarchs had been able to manage Parliament so that it did, 
in general, just what they wished. Henry VIII was a heartless 
tyrant, and his daughter Elizabeth, like her father, had ruled the 
nation in a high-handed manner, but neither of them had been 
accustomed to say much of their rights. 

365 



366 



Medieval and Modern Times 



James I 
loved to 
discuss the 
king's claims 



James I, on the other hand, had a very irritating way of dis- 
cussing his claim to be the sole and supreme ruler of England. 
" It is atheism and blasphemy," he declared, " to dispute what 
God can do ; . . . so it is presumption and high contempt in a 
subject to dispute what a king can do, or say that a king cannot 
do this or that." James was a learned man and fond of writing 




Fig. 95. James I 



books. Among them he published a work on monarchs, in 
which he claimed that the king could make any law he pleased 
without consulting Parliament; that he was the master of 
every one of his subjects, high and low, and might put to death 
whom he pleased. A good king would act according to law, 
but is not bound to do so and has the power to change the 
law at any time to suit himself. 



Struggle in England between King and Parliament 367 

These theories seem strange and very unreasonable to us, but The " divine 

right c 
kings : 



James was only trying to justify the powers . which the Tudor r 



monarchs had actually exercised and which the kings of France 
enjoyed down to the French Revolution of 1789. According to 
the theory of " the divine right of kings " it had pleased God to 
appoint the monarch the father of his people. People must 
obey him as they would God and ask no questions. The king 
was responsible to God alone, to whom he owed his powers, not 
to Parliament or the nation (see below, p. 388). 

It is unnecessary to follow the troubles between James I and 
Parliament, for his reign only forms the preliminary to the fatal 
experiences of his son Charles I, who came to the throne in 1625. 

The writers of James's reign constituted its chief glory. They Great writers 
outshone those of any other European country. Shakespeare is r e io-n— - S S 
generally admitted to be the greatest dramatist that the world Shakespeare 
has produced. While he wrote many of his plays before the 
death of Elizabeth, some of his finest — Othello, King Lear, and 
The Tempest, for example — belong to the time of James I. 
During the same period Francis Bacon (see above, p. 362) was Francis 
writing his Advancement of Learning, which he dedicated to 
James I in 1605 and in which he urged that men should cease 
to rely upon the old textbooks, like Aristotle, and turn to a 
careful examination of animals, plants, and chemicals, with a 
view of learning about them and using the knowledge thus 
gained to improve the condition of mankind. Bacon's ability 
to write English is equal to that of Shakespeare, but he chose 
to write prose, not verse. It was in James's reign that the King James 
authorized English translation of the Bible was made which the B ibi e 
is still used in all countries where English is spoken. 

An English physician of this period, William Harvey, exam- William 
ined the workings of the human body more carefully than any 
previous investigator and made the great discovery of the man- 
ner in which the blood circulates from the heart through the 
arteries and capillaries and back through the veins — a matter 
which had previously been entirely misunderstood. 



3 68 



Medieval and Modern Times 



How Charles I got along without Parliament 



Charles I, 
1625-1649 



Charles's ex- 
actions and 
arbitrary acts 



The Petition 
of Right 



71. Charles I, James I's son and successor, was somewhat 
more dignified than his father, but he was quite as obstinately set 
upon having his own way and showed no more skill in winning 
the confidence of his subjects. He did nothing to remove the 
disagreeable impressions of his father's reign and began im- 
mediately to quarrel with Parliament. When that body refused 
to grant him any money, mainly because they thought that it 
was likely to be wasted by his favorite, the Duke of Bucking- 
ham, Charles formed the plan of winning their favor by a great 
military victory. 

He hoped to gain popularity by prosecuting a war against 
Spain, whose king was energetically supporting the Catholic 
League in the Thirty Years' War. Accordingly, in spite of 
Parliament's refusal to grant him the necessary funds, he em- 
barked in war. With only the money which he could raise by 
irregular means, Charles arranged an expedition to capture 
the Spanish treasure ships which arrived in Cadiz once a year 
from America, laden with gold and silver; but this expedition 
failed. 

In his attempts to raise money without a regular grant from 
Parliament, Charles resorted to vexatious exactions. The law 
prohibited him from asking for gifts from his people, but it did 
not forbid his asking them to lend him money, however little 
prospect there might be of his ever repaying it. Five gentlemen 
who refused to pay such a forced loan were imprisoned by the 
mere order of the king. This raised the question of whether 
the king had the right lO send to prison those whom he wished 
without any legal reasons for their arrest. 

This and other attacks upon the rights of his subjects aroused 
Parliament. In 1628 that body drew up the celebrated Petition 
of Right, which is one of the most important documents in the 
history of the English Constitution. In it Parliament called the 
king's attention to his unlawful exactions, and to the acts of 



Struggle in England between King and Parliament 369 



his agents who had in sundry ways molested and disquieted the 

people of the realm. Parliament therefore " humbly prayed " 

the king that no man need thereafter " make or yield any gift, 

loan, benevolence, tax, or such 

like charge " without consent of 

Parliament; that no free man 

should be imprisoned or suffer 

any punishment except according 

to the laws and statutes of the 

realm as presented in the Great 

Charter ; and that soldiers should 

not be quartered upon the people 

on any pretext whatever. Very 

reluctantly Charles consented to 

this restatement of the limitations 

which the English had always, in 

theory at least, placed upon the 

arbitrary power of their king. 

The disagreement between 
Charles and Parliament was ren- 
dered much more serious by 
religious differences. The king 
had married a French Catholic 
princess, and the Catholic cause 
seemed to be gaining on the Con- 
tinent. The king of Denmark had 
just been defeated by Wallenstein 
and Tilly (see above, p. 353), and 
Richelieu had succeeded in de- 
priving the Huguenots of their 
cities, of refuge. Both James I 
and Charles I had shown their 
readiness to enter into agreements with France and Spain to 
protect Catholics in England, and there was evidently a growing 
inclination in England to revert to the older ceremonies of the 




Fig. 96. Charles I of 
England 

This portrait is by one of the 

greatest painters of the time, 

Anthony Van Dyck, 1 599-1 641 

(see Fig. 98) 



37o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Charles dis- 
solves Parlia- 
ment (1629) 
and deter- 
mines to rule 
by himself 



Charles's 
financial 
exactions 



John 
Hampden 



Church, which shocked the more strongly Protestant members 
of the House of Commons. The communion table was again 
placed by many clergymen at the eastern end of the church and 
became fixed there as an altar, and portions of the service were 
once more chanted. 

These " popish practices," as the Protestants called them, 
with which Charles was supposed to sympathize, served to 
widen the breach between him and the Commons, which had 
been caused by the king's attempt to raise taxes on his own ac- 
count. The Parliament of 1629, after a stormy session, was dis- 
solved by the king, who determined to rule thereafter by himself. 
For eleven years no new Parliament was summoned. 

Charles was not well fitted by nature to run the government 
of England by himself. He had not the necessary tireless 
energy. Moreover, the methods resorted to by his ministers to 
raise money without recourse to Parliament rendered the king 
more and more unpopular and prepared the way for the trium- 
phant return of Parliament. For example, Charles applied to his 
subjects for " ship money." He was anxious to equip a fleet, 
but instead of requiring the various ports to furnish ships, as 
was the ancient custom, he permitted them to buy themselves off 
by contributing money to the fitting out of large ships owned by 
himself. Even those living inland were asked for ship money. 
The king maintained that this was not a tax but simply a pay- 
ment by which his subjects freed themselves from the duty of 
defending their country. 

John Hampden, a squire of Buckinghamshire, made a bold 
stand against this illegal demand by refusing to pay twenty 
shillings of ship money which was levied upon him. The case 
was tried before the king's judges, and he was convicted, but 
by a bare majority. The trial made it tolerably clear that 
the country would not put up long with the king's despotic 
policy. 

In 1633 Charles made William Laud Archbishop of Canter- 
bury. Laud believed that the English Church would strengthen 



Struggle in England betzveen King and Parliament 371 

both itself and the government by following a middle course, William 

which should lie between that of the Church of Rome and that ArchbiS!? 

of Calvinistic Geneva. He declared that it was the part of of Canterbury 
good citizenship to conform outwardly to the services of the 




Fig. 97. John Hampden 

state church, but that the State should not undertake to oppress 
the individual conscience, and that every one should be at liberty 
to make up his own mind in regard to the interpretation to be 
given to the Bible and to the church fathers. As soon as he 
became archbishop he began a series of visitations through his 
province, Every clergyman who refused to conform to the 



372 Medieval and Modern Times 

prayer book, or opposed the placing of the communion table 
at the east end of the church, or declined to bow at the name 
of Jesus, was, if obstinate, to be brought before the king's 
special Court of High Commission to be tried and, if convicted, 
to be deprived of his position. 
The different Laud's conduct was no doubt gratifying to the High Church 
Sotestants— P ar ty among the Protestants, that is, those who still clung to 
High church some f the ancient practices of the Roman Church, although 
Church they rejected the doctrine of the Mass and refused to regard 

the pope as their head. The Low Church party, or Puritans, 
on the contrary, regarded Laud and his policy with aversion. 
While, unlike the Presbyterians, they did not urge the abolition 
of the bishops, they disliked all " superstitious usages," as they 
called the wearing of the surplice by the clergy, the use of the 
sign of the cross at baptism, the kneeling- posture in partaking 
of the communion, and so forth. The Presbyterians, who are 
often confused with the Puritans, agreed with them in many 
respects, but went farther and demanded the introduction of 
Calvin's system of church government. 
The Lastly, there was an ever-increasing number of Separatists, 

or Independents. These rejected both the organization of the 
Church of England and that of the Presbyterians, and desired 
that each religious community should organize itself independ- 
ently. The government had forbidden these Separatists to hold 
their little meetings, which they called conventicles, and about 
The Pilgrim 1600 some of them fled to Holland. The community of them 

Fathers 

which established itself at Leyden dispatched the Mayflower*, in 
1620, with colonists — since known as the Pilgrim Fathers — to 
the New World across the sea. 1 It was these colonists who laid 
the foundations of a New England which has proved a worthy 
offspring of the mother country. The form of worship which they 
established in their new home is still known as Congregational. 

1 The name " Puritan," it should be noted, was applied loosely to the English 
Protestants, whether Low Churchmen, Presbyterians, or Independents, who 
aroused the antagonism of their neighbors by advocating a godly life and opposing 
popular pastimes, especially on Sunday. 



Struggle in England between King and Parliament 373 

How Charles I lost his Head 

72. In 1640 Charles found himself forced to summon Par- Charles I's 
liament, for he was involved in a war with Scotland which he theScotch 
could not carry on without money. There the Presbyterian Presbyterians 
system had been pretty generally introduced by John Knox in 
Elizabeth's time (see above, p. 346). An attempt on the part 
of Charles to force the Scots to accept a modified form of the 
English prayer book led to the signing of the National Covenant The National 
in 1638. This pledged those who attached their names to it to l6 ° 3 ^ enant ' 
reestablish the purity and liberty of the Gospel, which, to most 
of the Covenanters, meant Presbyterianism. 

Charles thereupon undertook to coerce the Scots. Having Charles 
no money, he bought on credit a large cargo of pepper, which the^Long 
had just arrived in the ships of the East India Company, and Parliament, 
sold it cheap for ready cash. The soldiers, however, whom he 
got together showed little inclination to fight the Scots, with 
whom they were in tolerable agreement on religious matters. 
Charles was therefore at last obliged to summon a Parliament, 
which, owing to. the length of time it remained in session, is 
known as the Long Parliament. 

The Long Parliament began by imprisoning Archbishop Laud The meas- 
in the Tower of London. They declared him guilty of trea- Long° 
son, and he was executed in 164c:, in spite of Charles's efforts to Parliament 

7 TJ ' r against the 

save him. Parliament also tried to strengthen its position by king's 
passing the Triennial Bill, which provided that it should meet at 
least once in three years, even if not summoned by the king. 
In fact, Charles's whole system of government was abrogated. 
Parliament drew up a " Grand Remonstrance " in which all of 
Charles's errors were enumerated and a demand was made that 
the king's ministers should thereafter be responsible to Parlia- 
ment. This document Parliament ordered to be printed and 
circulated throughout the country. 

Exasperated at the conduct of the Commons, Charles at- 
tempted to intimidate the opposition by undertaking to arrest 



tyranny 



374 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Charles's five of its most active leaders, whom he declared to be traitors. 
arreTt P five° But when he entered the House of Commons and looked 
members of ar ound f r his enemies, he found that they had taken shelter 

the House J 

of Commons in London, whose citizens later brought them back in triumph 
to Westminster, where Parliament held its meetings. 




Fig. 



Children of Charles I 



This very interesting picture, by the Flemish artist Van Dyck, was 
painted in 1637. The boy with his hand on the dog's head was des- 
tined to become Charles II of England. Next on the left is the prince, 
who was later James II. The girl to the extreme left, the Princess 
Mary, married the governor of the United Netherlands, and her son 
became William III of England in 16S8 (see below, p. 384). The two 
princesses on the right died in childhood 



The begin- 
ning of civil 
war, 1642 — 
Cavaliers and 
Roundheads 



Both Charles and Parliament now began to gather troops 
for the inevitable conflict, and England was plunged into civil 
war. Those who supported Charles were called Cavaliers. 
They included not only most of the aristocracy and the Catholic 
party, but also a number of members of the House of Com- 
mons who were fearful lest Presbyterianism should succeed in 



Struggle in England between King and Parliament 375 

doing away with the English Church. The parliamentary party 
was popularly known as the Roundheads, since some of them 
cropped their hair close because of their dislike for the long 
locks of their more aristocratic and worldly opponents. 

The Roundheads soon found a distinguished leader in Oliver Oliver 
Cromwell (b. 1599), a country gentleman and member of Parlia- 
ment, who was later to become the most powerful ruler of his 
time. Cromwell organized a compact army of God-fearing men, 
who were not permitted to indulge in profane words or light 
talk, as is the wont of soldiers, but advanced upon their enemies 
singing psalms. The king enjoyed the support of northern 
England, and also looked for help from Ireland, where the 
royal and Catholic causes were popular. 

The war continued for several years, and a number of Battles of 
battles were fought which, after the first year, went in general Moor and 
against the Cavaliers. The most important of these were the Naseb y 
battle of Marston Moor in 1644, and that of Naseby the next 
year, in which the king was disastrously defeated. The enemy 
came into possession of his correspondence, which showed The losing 
them how their king, had been endeavoring to bring armies t h e king 
from France and Ireland into England. This encouraged Par- 
liament to prosecute the war with more energy than ever. 
The king, defeated on every hand, put himself in the hands of 
the Scotch army which had come to the aid of Parliament 
(1646), and the Scotch soon turned him over to Parliament. 
During the next two years Charles was held in captivity. 

There were, however, many in the House of Commons who Pride's 
still sided with the king, and in December, 1648, that body de- Purge 
clared for a reconciliation with the monarch, whom they had 
safely imprisoned in the Isle of Wight. The next day Colonel 
Pride, representing the army, — which constituted a party in it- 
self and was opposed to all negotiations between the king and 
the Commons, — stood at the door of the House with a body of 
soldiers and excluded all the members who took the side of the 
king. This outrageous act is known in history as " Pride's Purge." 



37$ 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Execution of 
Charles, 1649 



In this way the House of Commons was brought completely 
under the control of those most bitterly hostile to the king, whom 
they immediately proposed to bring to trial. They declared that 
the House of Commons, since it was chosen by the people, 
was supreme in England and the source of all just power, and 
that consequently neither king nor House of Lords was neces- 
sary. The mutilated House of Commons appointed a special 
High Court of Justice made up of Charles's sternest oppo- 
nents, who alone would consent to sit in judgment on him. 
They passed sentence upon him, and on January 30, 1649, 
Charles was beheaded in front of his palace of Whitehall, 
London. It must be clear from the above account that it was 
not the nation at large which demanded Charles's death, but a 
very small group of extremists who claimed to be the repre- 
sentatives of the nation. 



Oliver Cromwell : England a Commonwealth 



England 
becomes a 
common- 
wealth, or 
republic. 
Cromwell at 
the head of 
the govern- 
ment 



Ireland and 

Scotland 

subdued 



73. The " Rump Parliament," as the remnant of the House 
of Commons was contemptuously called, proclaimed England to 
be thereafter a " commonwealth," that is, a republic, without a 
king or House of Lords. But Cromwell, the head of the army, 
was nevertheless the real ruler of England. He derived his main 
support from the Independents ; and it is very surprising that he 
was able to maintain himself so long, considering what a small 
portion of the English people was in sympathy with the religious 
ideas of that sect and with the abolition of kingship. Even the 
Presbyterians were on the side of Charles I's son, Charles II, 
the legal heir to the throne. Cromwell was a vigorous and 
skillful administrator and had a well-organized army of fifty 
thousand men at his command, otherwise the republic could 
scarcely have lasted more than a few months. 

Cromwell found himself confronted by every variety of diffi- 
culty. The three kingdoms had fallen apart. The nobles and 
Catholics in Ireland proclaimed Charles II as king, and Ormond, 



Struggle in England betweejt King and Parliament 377 

a Protestant leader, formed an army of Irish Catholics and Eng- 
lish royalist Protestants with a view of overthrowing the Com- 
monwealth. Cromwell accordingly set out for Ireland, where, 
after taking Drogheda, he mercilessly slaughtered two thousand 
of the " barbarous wretches," as he called them. Town after 




Fig. 99. Oliver Cromwell 
This portrait is by Peter Lely and was painted in 1653 

town surrendered to Cromwell's army, and in 1652, after much 
cruelty, the island was once more conquered. A large part of it 
was confiscated for the benefit of the English, and the Catholic 
landowners were driven into the mountains. In the meantime 
(1650) Charles II, who had taken refuge in France, had landed in 
Scotland, and upon his agreeing to be a Presbyterian king, the 
whole Scotch nation was ready to support him. But Scotland was 
subdued by Cromwell even more promptly than Ireland had been. 



378 Medieval and Modem Times 

So completely was the Scottish army destroyed that Cromwell 
found no need to draw the sword again in the British Isles. 




Fig. ioo. Great Seal of England under the 
Commonwealth, 1651 

This seal is reduced considerably in the reproduction. It gives us an 

idea of the appearance of a session of the House of Commons when 

England was for a short period a republic. It is still to-day the custom 

for members to sit with their hats on, except when making a speech 

The Naviga- Although it would seem that Cromwell had enough to keep 
him busy at home, he had already engaged in a victorious 
foreign war against the Dutch, who had become dangerous 
commercial rivals of England. The ships which went out from 



Struggle in England betzveen King and Parliamejit 379 

Amsterdam and Rotterdam were the best merchant vessels in 

the world and had got control of the carrying trade between 

Europe and the colonies. In order to put an end to this, the 

English Parliament passed the Navigation Act (1651), which 

permitted only English vessels to bring goods to England, 

unless the goods came in vessels belonging to the country 

which had produced them. This led to a commercial war be- Commercial 

tween Holland and England, and a series of battles was fought Hoiiandand 

between the English and Dutch fleets, in which sometimes one En S land 

and sometimes the other gained the upper hand. This war is 

notable as the first example of the commercial struggles which 

were thereafter to take the place of the religious conflicts of 

the preceding period. 

Cromwell failed to get along with Parliament any better than Cromwell 

Charles I had done. The Rump Parliament had become very Long p ar n a . 

unpopular, for its members, in spite of their boasted piety, me £* ^ l6 ^P 

accepted bribes and were zealous in the promotion of their Lord Pro- 
tector by 
relatives in the public service. At last Cromwell upbraided his own 

them angrily for their injustice and self-interest, which were 
injuring the public cause. On being interrupted by a mem- 
ber, he cried out, " Come, come, we have had enough of this ! 
I '11 put an end to this. It 's not fit that you should sit here 
any longer," and calling in his soldiers he turned the members 
out of the House and sent them home. Having thus made an 
end of the Long Parliament (April, 1653), he summoned a 
Parliament of his own, made up of " God-fearing " men whom 
he and the officers of his army chose. This extraordinary body 
is known as Barebone's Parliament, from a distinguished mem- 
ber, a London merchant, with the characteristically Puritan 
name of Praisegod Barebone. Many of these godly men were 
unpractical and hard to deal with. A minority of the more sen- 
sible ones got up early one winter morning (December, 1653) 
and, before their opponents had a chance to protest, declared 
Parliament dissolved and placed the supreme authority in the 
hands of Cromwell. 



Parliament 



s8o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Pro- 
tector's 
foreign 
policy 



For nearly five years Cromwell was, as Lord Protector, — a 
title equivalent to that of Regent, — practically king of England, 
although he refused actually to accept the royal insignia. He 
did not succeed in permanently organizing the government at 




Fig. ioi. Dutch War Vessel in Cromwell's Time 

This should be compared with Fig. 233 to realize the change that had 

taken place in navigation since the palmy days of the Hanseatic League. 

(See above, p. 214) 



home but showed remarkable ability in his foreign negotiations. 
He formed an alliance with France, and English troops aided 
the French in winning a great victory over Spain. England 
gained thereby Dunkirk, and the West Indian island of Jamaica. 



Struggle in England between King and Parliament 381 



The French king, Louis XIV, at first hesitated to address Crom- 
well, in the usual courteous way of monarchs, as " my cousin," 
but soon admitted that he would have even to call Cromwell 
" father " should he wish it, as the Protector was undoubtedly 
the most powerful person in Europe. Indeed, he found himself 
forced to play the part of a monarch, and it seemed to many 
persons that he was quite as despotic as James I and Charles I. 

In May, 1658, Crom- 
well fell ill, and as a great 
storm passed over Eng- 
land at that time, the 
Cavaliers asserted that 
the devil had come to 
fetch home the soul of 
the usurper. Cromwell 
was dying, it is true, but 
he was no instrument of 
the devil. He closed a 
life of honest effort for 
his fellow beings with a 
last touching prayer to 
God, whom he had con- 
sistently sought to serve : 
" Thou hast made me, 
though very unworthy, 
a mean instrument to do 
Thy people some good 
and Thee service : and 




Fig. 102. 



A Ship of the Hanseatic 
League 



This is taken from a picture at Cologne, 
painted in 1409. It, as well as other pic- 
tures of the time, makes it clear that the 
Hanseatic ships were tiny compared with 
those used two hundred and fifty years 
later, when Cromwell fought the Dutch 



many of them have set too high a value upon me, though 
others wish and would be glad of my death. Pardon such as 
desire to trample upon the dust of a poor worm, for they 
are Thy people too ; and pardon the folly of this short prayer, 
even for Jesus Christ's sake, and give us a good night, if it 
be Thy pleasure. Amen." 



382 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Restoration 



The Resto- 
ration 



Charles II 
welcomed 
back as king, 
1660 



Character of 
Charles II 



Religious 

measures 
adopted by 
Parliament 



74. After Cromwell's death his son Richard, who succeeded 
him, found himself unable to carry on the government. He soon 
abdicated, and the remnants of the Long Parliament met once 
more. But the power was really in the hands of the soldiers. 
In 1660 George Monk, who was in command of the forces in 
Scotland, came to London with a view of putting an end to the 
anarchy. He soon concluded that no one cared to support the 
Rump, and that body peacefully disbanded of its own accord. 
Resistance would have been vain in any case with the army 
against it. The nation was glad to acknowledge Charles II, 
whom every one preferred to a government by soldiers. A new 
Parliament, composed of both houses, was assembled, which 
welcomed a messenger from the king and solemnly resolved 
that, " according to the ancient and fundamental laws of this 
kingdom, the government is, and ought to be, by king, lords, 
and commons." Thus the Puritan revolution and the short-lived 
republic was followed by the Restoration of the Stuarts. 

Charles II was quite as fond as his father of having his own 
way, but he was a man of more abilky. He disliked to be ruled 
by Parliament, but, unlike his father, he was too wise to arouse 
the nation against him. He did not propose to let anything 
happen which would send him on his travels again. He and his 
courtiers were fond of pleasure of a light-minded kind. The 
immoral dramas of the Restoration seem to indicate that those 
who had been forced by the Puritans to give up their legitimate 
pleasures now welcomed the opportunity to indulge in reck- 
less gayety without regard to the bounds imposed by custom 
and decency. 

Charles's first Parliament was a moderate body, but his second 
was made up almost wholly of Cavaliers, and it got along, on 
the whole, so well with the king that he did not dissolve it for 
eighteen years. It did not take up the old question, which was 
still unsettled, as to whether Parliament or the king was really 



Struggle in England between King and Parliament 383 

supreme. It showed its hostility, however, to the Puritans by a 

series of intolerant acts, which are very important in English 

history. It ordered that no one should hold a town office who 

had not received the communion according to the rites of the 

Church of England. This was aimed at both the Presbyterians 

and the Independents. By the Act of Uniformity (1662) every The Act of 

clergyman who refused to accept everything contained in the 

Book of Common Prayer was to be excluded from holding his 

benefice. Two thousand clergymen thereupon resigned their 

positions for conscience' sake. 

These laws tended to throw all those Protestants who refused The Dis- 

soztcvs 

to conform to the Church of England into a single class, still known 
to-day as Dissenters. It included the Independents, the Pres- 
byterians, and the newer bodies of the Baptists and the Society 
of Friends, commonly known as Quakers. These sects aban- 
doned any idea of controlling the religion or politics of the coun- 
try, and asked only that they might be permitted to worship in 
their own way outside of the English Church. 

Toleration found an unexpected ally in the king, who, in Toleration 
spite of his dissolute habits, had interest enough in religion to t he°king Y 
have secret leanings toward Catholicism. He asked Parliament 
to permit him to moderate the rigor of the Act of Uniformity 
by making some exceptions. He even issued a declaration in 
the interest of toleration, with a view of bettering the posi- 
tion of the Catholics and Dissenters. Suspicion was, however, 
aroused lest this toleration might lead to the restoration of 
"popery," — as the Protestants called the Catholic beliefs, — 
and Parliament passed the harsh Conventicle Act (1664). The Conven- 

. tide Act 

Any adult attending a conventicle — that is to say, any reli- 
gious meeting not held in accordance with the practice of the 
English Church — was liable to penalties which might culminate 
in transportation to some distant colony. Samuel Pepys, who 
saw some of the victims of this law upon their way to a terrible 
exile, notes in his famous diary : " They go like lambs without 
any resistance. I would to God that they would conform, or be 



§4 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Test 
Act 



War with 
Holland 



more wise and not be catched." A few years later Charles II 
issued a declaration giving complete religious liberty to Roman 
Catholics as well as to Dissenters. Parliament not only forced 
him to withdraw this enlightened measure but passed the Test 
Act, which excluded every one from public office who did not 
accept the views of the English Church. 

The old war with Holland, begun by Cromwell, was renewed 
under Charles II, who was earnestly desirous to increase Eng- 
lish commerce and to found new colonies. The two nations 
were very evenly matched on the sea, but in 1664 the English 
seized some of the West Indian Islands from the Dutch and 
also their colony on Manhattan Island, which was re-named 
New York in honor of the king's brother, the Duke of York. 
In 1667 a treaty was signed by England and Holland w T hich 
confirmed these conquests. 



The Revolution of 1688 



James II, 
1685-1688 



The revolu- 
tion of 1688 
and the 
accession of 
William III, 
1688-1702 



75. Upon Charles IPs death he was succeeded by his brother, 
James II, who was an avowed Catholic and had married, as his 
second wife, Mary of Modena, who was also a Catholic. He was 
ready to reestablish Catholicism in England regardless of what it 
might cost him. Mary, James's daughter by his first wife, had 
married her cousin, William III, Prince of Orange, the head of 
the United Netherlands. The nation might have tolerated James 
so long as they could look forward to the accession of his 
Protestant daughter. But when a son was born to his Catholic 
second wife, and James showed unmistakably his purpose of 
favoring the Catholics, messengers were dispatched by a group 
of Protestants to William of Orange, asking him to come and 
rule over them. 

William landed in November, 1688, and marched upon Lon- 
don, where he received general support from all the English 
Protestants, regardless of party. James II started to oppose Wil- 
liam, but his army refused to fight and his courtiers deserted 






CHAPTER XVIII 
FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV 

Position and Character of Louis XIV 
76. Under the despotic rule of Louis XIV (1643-17 15) France at the 

T-. -1 v • n i- a- • accession of 

r ranee enjoyed a commanding influence in Luropean affairs. Louis xiv 
After the wars of religion were over, the royal authority had been l6 43-!7i5 
reestablished by the wise conduct of Henry IV. Later, Riche- 
lieu had solidified the monarchy by depriving the Huguenots of 
the exceptional privileges granted to them for their protection 
by Henry IV ; he had also destroyed the fortified castles of the 
nobles, whose power had greatly increased during the turmoil 
of the Huguenot wars. His successor, Cardinal Mazarin, who 
conducted the government during Louis XIV's boyhood, was 
able to put down a last rising of the discontented nobility. 

When Mazarin died, in 166 1, he left the young monarch with What Riche- 
a kingdom such as no previous French king had enjoyed. The Mazarin had 
nobles, who for centuries had disputed the power with the king, F^c^mon 
were no longer feudal lords but only courtiers. The Huguenots, archy 
whose claim to a place in the State beside the Catholics had led 
to the terrible civil wars of the sixteenth century, were reduced 
in numbers and no longer held fortified towns from which they 
could defy the king's officers. Richelieu and Mazarin had suc- 
cessfully taken a hand in the Thirty Years' War, and France 
had come out of it with enlarged territory and increased impor- 
tance in European affairs. 

Louis XIV carried the work of these great ministers still The govern- 
farther. He gave that form to the French monarchy which it Louis xiv 
retained until the French Revolution. He made himself the very 
mirror of kingship. His marvelous court at Versailles became 

387 



388 ; Medieval and Modem Times 

the model and the despair of other less opulent and powerful 
princes, who accepted his theory of the absolute power of kings 
but could not afford to imitate his luxury. ■ By his incessant wars 
he kept Europe in turmoil for over half a century. The dis- 
tinguished generals who led his newly organized troops, and the 
wily diplomats who arranged his alliances and negotiated his 




Fig. 103. Louis XIV 

treaties, made France feared and respected by even the most 

powerful of the other European states. 

The theory Louis XIV had the same idea of kingship that James I had 

i; divine right tried in vain to induce the English people to accept. God had 

Francf S " g^ ven kings to men, and it was His will that monarchs should 

be regarded as His lieutenants and that all those subject to 

them should obey them absolutely, without asking any questions 

or making any criticisms ; for in submitting to their prince they 

were really submitting to God Himself. If the king were good 



France under Louis XIV 389 

and wise, his subjects should thank the Lord ; if he proved 
foolish, cruel, or perverse, they must accept their evil ruler as 
a punishment which God had sent them for their sins. But in 
no case might they limit his power or rise against him. 1 

Louis XIV had two great advantages over James I. In the Different 
first place, the English nation has always shown itself far more th< ! English 
reluctant than France to place absolute power in the hands of its an J French 

r r nations 

rulers. By its Parliament, its courts, and its various declarations toward 
of the nation's rights, it had built up traditions which made it monarchy 
impossible for the Stuarts to establish their claim to be absolute 
rulers. In France, on the other hand, there was no Great 
Charter or Bill of Rights ; the Estates General did not hold the 
purse strings, and the king was permitted to raise money without 
asking their permission or previously redressing the grievances 
which they chose to point out. They were therefore only sum- 
moned at irregular intervals. When Louis XIV took charge of 
the government, forty-seven years had passed without a meet- 
ing of the Estates General, and a century and a quarter was 
still to elapse before another call to the representatives of the 
nation was issued in 1789. 

Moreover, the French people placed far more reliance upon 
a powerful king than the English, perhaps because they were 
not protected by the sea from their neighbors, as England was. 
On every side France had enemies ready to take advantage of 
any weakness or hesitation which might arise from dissension 
between a parliament and the king. So the French felt it best, 
on the whole, to leave all in the king's hands, even if they 
suffered at times from his tyranny. 

Louis had another great advantage over James. He was a Personal 
handsome man, of elegant and courtly mien and the most ex- i st j cs f 
quisite perfection of manner ; even when playing billiards he Louis XIV 
is said to have retained an air of world mastery. The first of 

1 Louis XIV does not appear to have himself used the famous expression " /am 
the State," usually attributed to him, but it exactly corresponds to his idea of the 
relation of the king and the State. 



390 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The strenu- 
ous life of a 
despotic 
ruler 



the Stuarts, on the contrary, was a very awkward man, whose 
slouching gait, intolerable manners, and pedantic conversation 
were utterly at variance with his lofty pretensions. Louis added, 
moreover, to his graceful exterior a sound judgment and quick 
apprehension. He said neither too much nor too little. He 
was, for a king, a hard worker and spent several hours a day 
attending to the business of government. 

It requires, in fact, a great deal of energy and application to 
be a real despot. In order thoroughly to understand and to solve 




^mw& 






n~-.-,v- n '. ^_; i - 



Fig. 104. Facade of the Palace of Versailles 



the problems which constantly face the ruler of a great state, a 
monarch must, like Frederick the Great or Napoleon, rise early 
and toil late. Louis XIV was greatly aided by the able min- 
isters who sat in his council, but he always retained for himself 
the place of first minister. He would never have consented to 
be dominated by an adviser, as his father had been by Richelieu. 
" The profession of the king," he declared, " is great, noble, 
and delightful if one but feels equal to performing the duties 
which it involves," — and he never harbored a doubt that he 
himself was born for the business. 



Frc 



wider Loins XIV 



391 



How Louis encouraged Art and Literature 
77. Louis XIV was careful that his surroundings should suit The king's 

palace at 
Versailles 



the grandeur of his office. His court was magnificent beyond F 



anything that had been dreamed of in the West. He had an 
enormous palace constructed at Versailles, just outside of Paris, 
with interminable halls and apartments and a vast garden 




Fig. 105. One of the Vast Halls of Versailles 



stretching away behind- it. About this a town was laid out, 
where those who were privileged to be near his majesty or 
supply the wants of the royal court lived. This palace and 
its outlying buildings, including two or three less gorgeous 
residences for the king when he occasionally tired of the cere- 
mony of Versailles, probably cost the nation about a hundred 
million dollars, in spite of the fact that thousands of peasants 
and soldiers were forced to turn to and work without pay. 
The furnishings and decorations were as rich and costly as the 
palace was splendid and still fill the visitor with wonder. For 



392 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Life at 
Louis XIV's 
court 



The reforms 
of Colbert 



over a century Versailles continued to be the home of the 
French kings and the seat of their government. 

This splendor and luxury helped to attract the nobility, who 
no longer lived on their estates in well-fortified castles, plan- 
ning how they might escape the royal control. They now dwelt 
in the effulgence of the king's countenance. They saw him to 
bed at night and in stately procession they greeted him in the 
morning. It was deemed a high honor to hand him his shirt as 



w^m 



SifSSMilllr 







Fig. 106. Facade of the Palace of Versailles toward 
the Gardens 

he was being dressed or, at dinner, to provide him with a fresh 
napkin. Only by living close to the king could the courtiers 
hope to gain favors, pensions, and lucrative offices for them- 
selves and their friends, and perhaps occasionally to exercise 
some little influence upon the policy of the government. For 
they were now entirely dependent upon the good will of their 
monarch. 

The reforms which Louis XIV carried out in the earlier part 
of his reign were largely the work of the great financier Colbert, 
to whom France still looks back with gratitude. He early 



France under Louis XIV 393 

discovered that the king's officials were stealing and wasting vast 
sums. The offenders were arrested and forced to disgorge, and 
a new system of bookkeeping was introduced, similar to that 
employed by business men. He then turned his attention to 
increasing the manufactures of France by establishing new in- 
dustries and seeing that the older ones kept to a high standard, 
which would make French goods sell readily in foreign markets. 
He argued justly that if foreigners could be induced to buy 
French goods, these sales would bring* gold and silver into the 
country and so enrich it. He made rigid rules as to the width 
and quality of cloths which the manufacturers might produce 
and the dyes which they might use. He even reorganized the 
old medieval guilds ; for through them the government could 
keep its eye on all the manufacturing that was done ; this would 
have been far more difficult if every one had been free to carry 
on any trade which he might choose. 

It was, however, as a patron of art and literature that Art and liter- 
Louis XIV gained much of his celebrity. Moliere, who was at reign of 
once a playwright and an actor, delighted the court with come- Louis XIV 
dies in which he delicately satirized the foibles of his time. 
Corneille, who had gained renown by the great tragedy of The 
Cid in Richelieu's time, found a worthy successor in Racine, the 
most distinguished, perhaps, of French tragic poets. The charm- 
ing letters of Madame de Sevigne are models of prose style and 
serve at the same time to give us a glimpse into the more refined 
life of the court circle. In the famous memoirs of Saint-Simon, 
the weaknesses of the king, as well as the numberless intrigues 
of the courtiers, are freely exposed with inimitable skill and wit. 

Men of letters were generously aided by the king with pen- The govern- 
sions. Colbert encouraged the French Academy, which had Jhe^eretoph 
been created by Richelieu. This body gave special attention to ™ ent ? f the 
making the French tongue more eloquent and expressive by guage and 
determining what words should be used. It is now the greatest 
honor that a Frenchman can obtain to be made one of the 
forty members of this association. A magazine which still exists, 



394 



Medieval and Modern Times 



the Journal des Savants, was founded for the promotion of 
science at this time. Colbert had an astronomical observatory 
built at Paris ; and the Royal Library, which only possessed 
about sixteen thousand volumes, began to grow into that great 
collection of two and a half million volumes — by far the largest 
in existence — which to-day attracts scholars to Paris from all 
parts of the world. In short, Louis XIV and his ministers be- 
lieved one of the chief objects of any government to be the pro- 
motion of art, literature, and science, and the example they set 
has been followed by almost every modern state. 



Louis XIV attacks his Neighbors 

78. Unfortunately for France, the king's ambitions were by no 
means exclusively peaceful. Indeed, he regarded his wars as his 
chief glory. He employed a carefully reorganized army and the 
skill of his generals in a series of inexcusable attacks on his neigh- 
bors, in which he finally squandered all that Colbert's economies 
had accumulated and led France to the edge of financial ruin. 

Louis XIV 's predecessors had had, on the whole, little time 
to think of conquest. They had first to consolidate their realms 
and gain the mastery of their feudal dependents, who shared the 
power with them ; then the claims of the English Edwards and 
Henrys had to be met, and the French provinces freed from 
their clutches ; lastly, the great religious dispute was only settled 
after many years of disintegrating civil war. But Louis XIV 
was now at liberty to look about him and consider - how he 
might best realize the. dream of his ancestors and perhaps rees- 
tablish the ancient boundaries which Caesar reported that the 
Gauls had occupied. The " natural limits " of France appeared 
to be the Rhine on the north and east, the Jura Mountains and 
the Alps on the southeast, and to the south the Mediterranean 
and the Pyrenees. Richelieu had believed that it was the chief 
end of his ministry to restore to France the boundaries deter- 
mined for it by nature. Mazarin had labored hard to win Savoy 



France tender Louis XIV 395 

and Nice and to reach the Rhine on the north. Before his 
death France at least gained Alsace and reached the Pyrenees, 
"which," as the treaty with Spain says (1659), "formerly 
divided the Gauls from Spain." 

Louis XIV first turned his attention to the conquest of the Louis xiv 
Spanish Netherlands, to which he laid claim through his wife, the t he Spanish 
elder sister of the Spanish king, Charles II (1665-1700). In Norlands 
1667 he surprised Europe by publishing a little treatise in which 
he set forth his claims not only to the Spanish Netherlands, but 
even to the whole Spanish monarchy. By confounding the king- 
dom of France with the old empire of the Franks he could main- 
tain that the people of the Netherlands were his subjects. 

Louis placed himself at the head of the army which he had The invasion 
re-formed and reorganized, and announced that he was to under- ° and g ; ^67^" 
take a " journey," as if his invasion was only an expedition into 
another part of his undisputed realms. He easily took a num- 
ber of towns on the border of the Netherlands and then turned 
south and completely conquered Franche-Comte'. This was 
an outlying province of Spain, isolated from her other lands, 
and a most tempting morsel for the hungry king of France. 1 

These conquests alarmed Europe, and especially Holland, 
which could not afford to have the barrier between it and France 
removed, for Louis XIV would be an uncomfortable neighbor. 
A Triple Alliance, composed of Holland, England, and Sweden, 
was accordingly organized to induce France to make peace with 
Spain. Louis contented himself for the moment with the dozen 
border towns that he had taken and which Spain ceded to him 
on condition that he would return Franche-Comte. 

The success with which Holland had held her own against Louis xiv 
the navy of England and brought the proud king of France t heTrip?e 
to a halt produced an elation on the part of that tiny country fiance and 
which was very aggravating to Louis XIV. He was thoroughly self with 
vexed that he should have been blocked by so trifling an England 
obstacle as Dutch intervention. He consequently conceived a 

1 See above, pp. 279 and 355. 



39^ 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Louis XIV's 
invasion of 
Holland, 1672 



Peace of 

Nimwegen, 

1678 



Louis XIV 

seizes 

Strassburg 



strong dislike for the United Provinces, which was increased 
by the protection that they afforded to writers who annoyed 
him with their attacks. He broke up the Triple Alliance by 
inducing Charles II of England to conclude a treaty which 
pledged England to help France in a new war against the 
Dutch. 

Louis XIV then startled Europe again by seizing the duchy of 
Lorraine, which brought him to the border of Holland. At the 
head of a hundred thousand men he crossed the Rhine (1672) 
and easily conquered southern Holland. For the moment the 
Dutch cause appeared to be lost. But William of Orange showed 
the spirit of his great ancestor William the Silent ; the sluices 
in the dikes were opened and the country flooded, so the French 
army was checked before it could take Amsterdam and advance 
into the north. The emperor sent an army against Louis, and 
England deserted him and made peace with Holland. 

When a general peace was concluded at the end of six years, 
the chief provisions were that Holland should be left intact, and 
that France should this time retain Franche-Comte, which had 
been conquered by Louis XIV in person. This, bit of the 
Burgundian heritage thus became at last a part of France, 
after France and Spain had quarreled over it for a century 
and a half. For the ten years following there was no open 
war, but Louis seized the important free city of Strassburg and 
made many other less conspicuous but equally unwarranted ad- 
ditions to his territory. The emperor was unable to do more than 
protest against these outrageous encroachments, for he was fully 
occupied with the Turks, who had just laid siege to Vienna. 



Situation of 
the Hugue- 
nots at the 
beginning of 
Louis XIV's 
reign 



Louis XIV and his Protestant Subjects 

79. Louis XIV exhibited as woeful a want of statesmanship 
in the treatment of his Protestant subjects as in the prosecution 
of disastrous wars. The Huguenots, deprived of their former 
military and political power, had turned to manufacture, trade, 



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France under Louis XIV 397 

and banking ; " as rich as a Huguenot " had become a proverb 
in France. There were perhaps a million of them among fifteen 
million Frenchmen, and they undoubtedly formed by far the 
most thrifty and enterprising part of the nation. The Catholic 
clergy, however, did not cease to urge the complete suppression 
of heresy. 

Louis XIV had scarcely taken the reins of government into Louis's 
his own hands before the perpetual nagging and injustice to passion SUP " 
which the Protestants had been subjected at all times took a 
more serious form. Upon one pretense or another their churches 
were demolished. Children were authorized to renounce Prot- 
estantism when they reached the age of seven. Rough dragoons 
were quartered upon the Huguenots with the hope that the in- 
sulting behavior of the soldiers might frighten the heretics into 
accepting the religion of the king. 

At last Louis XIV was led by his officials to believe that prac- Revocation 
tically all the Huguenots had been converted by these harsh of Nantes and 
measures. In 1685, therefore, he revoked the Edict of Nantes, lts results 
and the Protestants thereby became outlaws and their ministers 
subject to the death penalty. Even liberal-minded Catholics, 
like the kindly writer of fables, La Fontaine, and the charming 
letter writer, Madame de Sevigne', hailed this reestablishment 
of " religious unity " with delight. They believed that only an 
insignificant and seditious remnant still clung to the beliefs of 
Calvin. But there could have been no more serious mistake. 
Thousands of the Huguenots succeeded in eluding the vigi- 
lance of the royal officials and fled, some to England, some to 
Prussia, some to America, carrying with them their skill and 
industry to strengthen France's rivals. This was the last great 
and terrible example in western Europe of that fierce religious 
intolerance which had produced the Albigensian Crusade, the 
Spanish Inquisition, and the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. 

Louis XIV now set his heart upon conquering the Palatinate, Louis's 
a Protestant land, to which he easily discovered that he had a ^Rhenish* 
claim. The rumor of his intention and the indignation occasioned Palatinate 



398 Medieval and Modern Times 

in Protestant countries by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes 
resulted in an alliance against the French king headed by William 
of Orange. Louis speedily justified the suspicions of Europe by 
a frightful devastation of the Palatinate, burning whole towns 
and destroying many castles, including the exceptionally beautiful 
one of the elector at Heidelberg. Ten years later, however, 
Louis agreed to a peace which put things back as they were 
before the struggle began. He was preparing for the final and 
most ambitious undertaking of his life, which precipitated the 
longest and bloodiest war of all his warlike reign. 

War of the Spanish Succession 

The question 80. The king of Spain, Charles II, was childless and brother- 
ish succession l ess > an ^ Europe had long been discussing what would become of 
his vast realms when his sickly existence should come to an end. 
Louis XIV had married one of his sisters, and the emperor, 
Leopold I, another, and these two ambitious rulers had been 
considering for some time how they might divide the Spanish 
possessions between the Bourbons and the Hapsburgs. But 
when Charles II died, in 1700, it was discovered that he had 
left a will in which he made Louis's younger grandson, Philip, 
the heir to his twenty-two crowns, but on the condition that 
France and Spain should never be united. 
Louis's grand- It was a weighty question whether Louis XIV should permit his 
becomes grandson to accept this hazardous honor. Should Philip become 

spam° f king of Spain, Louis and his family would control all of south- 

western Europe from Holland to Sicily, as well as a great part 
of North and South America. This would mean the establish- 
ment of an empire more powerful than that of Charles V. It 
was clear that the disinherited emperor and the ever watchful 
William of Orange, now king of England (see above, p. 384), 
would never permit this unprecedented extension of French 
influence. They had already shown themselves ready to make 
great sacrifices in order to check far less serious aggressions on 



Fra?ice under Louis XIV 399 

the part of the French king. Nevertheless, family pride and 
personal ambition led Louis criminally to risk the welfare of 
his country. He accepted the will and informed the Spanish 
ambassador at the French court that he might salute Philip V 
as his new king. The leading French newspaper of the time 
boldly proclaimed that the Pyrenees were no more. 

King William soon succeeded in forming a new Grand Alii- The War of 
ance (1701) in which Louis's old enemies, England, Holland, succession 
and the emperor, were the most important members. William 
himself died just as hostilities were beginning, but the long 
War of the Spanish Succession was carried on vigorously by 
the great English general, the Duke of Marlborough, and the 
Austrian commander, Eugene of Savoy. The conflict was more 
general than the Thirty Years' War ; even in America there was 
fighting between French and English colonists, which passes in 
American histories under the name of Queen Anne's War. All 
the more important battles went against the French, and after 
ten years of war, which was rapidly ruining the country by the 
destruction of its people and its wealth, Louis XIV was willing 
to consider some compromise, and after lqng discussion a peace 
was arranged in 17 13. 

The Treaty of Utrecht changed the map of Europe as no The Treaty 
previous treaty had done, not even that of Westphalia. Each ° ;i3 re 
of the chief combatants got his share of the Spanish booty over 
which they had been fighting. The Bourbon Philip V was per- 
mitted to retain Spain and its colonies on condition that the 
Spanish and French crowns should never rest on the same 
head. To Austria fell the Spanish Netherlands, hereafter called 
the Austrian Netherlands, which continued to form a barrier 
between Holland and France. Holland received certain for- 
tresses to make its position still more secure. The Spanish 
possessions in Italy, that is, Naples and Milan, were also given 
to Austria, and in this way Austria got the hold on Italy which 
it retained until 1866. From France, England acquired Nova 
Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay region, and so 



400 Medieval and Modern Times 

began the expulsion of the French from North America. Besides 
these American provinces she received the rock and fortress of 
Gibraltar, which still gives her command of the narrow entrance 
to the Mediterranean. 
The develop- The period of Louis XIV is remarkable for the development 
ternational °f international law. The incessant wars and great alliances 
law embracing several powers made increasingly clear the need of 

well-defined rules governing states in their relations with one 
another both in peace and in war. It was of the utmost 
importance to determine, for instance, the rights of ambassa- 
dors and of the vessels of neutral powers not engaged in the 
war, and what should be considered fair conduct in warfare 
and in the treatment of prisoners. 
Grotius's War The first great systematic treatise on international law was 
published by Grotius in 1625, when the horrors of the Thirty 
Years' War were impressing men's minds with the necessity of 
finding some means other than war of settling disputes between 
nations. While the rules laid down by Grotius and later writers 
have, as we must sadly admit, by no means put an end to war, 
they have prevented many conflicts by increasing the ways in 
which nations may come to an understanding with one another 
through their ambassadors without recourse to arms. 

Louis XIV outlived his son and his grandson and left a 
sadly demoralized kingdom to his five-year-old great-grandson, 
Louis XV (17 15-1774). The national treasury was depleted, 
the people were reduced in numbers and were in a miserable 
state, and the army, once the finest in Europe, was in no 
condition to gain further victories. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 76. What did Richelieu accomplish in strengthening 
the French monarchy? What were Louis XIV's ideas of kingship? 
Why did the French view the " divine right of kings " differently 
from the English? Contrast Louis XIV with James I. 



France under Louis XIV 401 

Section yy. Describe the palace of Versailles. What were the 
chief reforms of Colbert? Mention some of the great writers of 
Louis XIV's time. How did the government aid scholarship and 
science ? 

Section 78. What led Louis XIV to attack his neighbors ? What 
are the " natural " boundaries of France ? What country did Louis first 
attack ? What additions did he make to French territory ? 

Section 79. What was the policy of Louis XIV toward the 
Huguenots ? Who were Louis XIV's chief enemies ? 

Section 80. What were the causes of the War of the Spanish 
Succession ? What were the chief changes provided for in the Treaty 
of Utrecht? 






A 



CHAPTER XIX 

RISE OF RUSSIA AND PRUSSIA ; AUSTRIA 

Beginnings of Russia 



81. We have had little occasion hitherto, in dealing with the 
history of western Europe, to speak of the Slavic peoples, to 
whom the Russians, Poles, Bohemians, and many other nations 
of eastern Europe belong. Together they form the most nu- 
merous race in Europe, but, as has been well said, " they occupy 
a greater place on the map than in history." In the eighteenth 
century, however, Russia began to take an increasingly im- 
portant part in European affairs, and it is now a great force in 
the politics of the world. The realms of the Tsar which lie in 
Europe exceed in extent those of all the other rulers of the 
continent put together, and yet they are scarcely more than a 
quarter of his whole dominion, which embraces northern and 
central Asia, and forms together an empire occupying nearly 
three times the area of the United States. 

The Slavs were settled along the Dnieper, Don, and Vistula 

rivers long before the Christian era. After the East Goths had 

period of the p ene trated into the Roman Empire the Slavs followed their 

(jerman mva- r r 

sions example and invaded, ravaged, and conquered the Balkan Penin- 

sula, which they held for some time. When the German Lom- 
bards went south into Italy, about 569, 1 the Slavs pressed 
behind them into the eastern Alps, where they still live within 
the bounds of the Austrian Empire. Other Slavic hordes had 
driven the Germans across the Oder and the upper Elbe. 
Later the German emperors, beginning with Charlemagne, 

1 See above, pp. 23, 31. ■ 

402 



Movements 
of the Slavs 
during the 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 403 

began to push them back, but the Bohemians and Moravians, 
who. are Slavs, still hold an advanced position on the borders 
of Germany. 

In the ninth century some of the Northmen invaded the Beginnings 
districts to the east of the Baltic, while their relatives were ° Russia 
causing grievous trouble in France and England. 1 It is gen- 
erally supposed that one of their leaders, Rurik, was the first 
to consolidate the Slavic tribes about Novgorod into a sort of 
state, in 862. Rurik's successor extended the bounds of the 
new empire to the south as far as the Dnieper River. The 
word " Russia " is probably derived from Rous, the name given 
by the neighboring Finns to the Norman adventurers. Before 
the end of the tenth century the Greek form of Christianity 2 
was introduced and the Russian ruler was baptized. The fre- 
quent intercourse with Constantinople might have led to rapid 
advance in civilization had it not been for a great disaster which 
put Russia back for centuries. 

Russia is geographically nothing more than an extension of The Tartar 
the vast plain of northern Asia, which the Russians were in V the° n 
destined finally to conquer. It was therefore exposed to the thir teenth 

J ^ r century 

great invasion of the Tartars, or Mongols, who swept in from 
the east in the thirteenth century. The powerful Tartar ruler, 
Genghis Khan (n 62-1 2 2 7), conquered northern China and 
central Asia, and the mounted hordes of his successors crossed 
into Europe and overran Russia, which had fallen apart into 
numerous principalities. The Russian princes became the 
dependents of the Great Khan, and had frequently to seek 
his far-distant court, some three thousand miles away, where 
he freely disposed of both their crowns and their heads. The 
Tartars exacted tribute of the Russians but left them undis- 
turbed in their laws and religion. 

Of the Russian princes who went to prostrate themselves influence of 
at the foot of the Great Khan's throne, none made a more occupation on 
favorable impression upon him than the prince of Moscow, in ™ a s ^ r s s and 
1 See above, p. 92. 2 See above, p. 48. 



404 Medieval and Modern Times 

whose favor the Khan was wont to decide all cases of dispute 
between the prince and his rivals. When the Mongol power 
had begun to decline in strength and the princes of Moscow 
had grown stronger, they ventured to kill the Mongol ambas- 
sadors sent to demand tribute in 1480, and thus freed them- 
selves from the Mongol yoke. But the Tartar occupation had 
left its mark, for the princes of Moscow imitated the Khans 
rather than the Western rulers, of whom, in fact, they knew 
Ivan the Ter- nothing. In 1 5 47 Ivan the Terrible assumed the title of 
the title of " Tsar," 1 which was the Russian equivalent of the title " king," 
"Tsar" or » em peror." The costumes and etiquette of the court were 

also Asiatic. The Russian armor suggested that of the Chinese, 
and their headdress was a turban. It was the task of Peter the 
Great to Europeanize Russia. 



Peter the Great 

Peter the 82. At the time of Peter's accession, in 1672, Russia, which 

1725 ' had grown greatly under Ivan the Terrible and other enterpris- 

ing rulers, still had no outlet to the sea. In manners and cus- 
toms the kingdom was Asiatic, and its government was like 
that of a Tartar prince. Peter had objection to the despotic 
power which fell to him, but he knew that Russia was very 
much behind the rest of Europe and that his crudely equipped 
soldiers could never make head against the well-armed and 
well-disciplined troops of the West. He had no seaport and 
no ships, and without these Russia could never hope to take 
part in the world's affairs. His two great tasks were therefore 
to introduce Western habits and to " make a window," as he 
expressed it, through which Russia might look abroad. 2 

1 The word " Tsar," or " Czar," is derived from " Caesar" (German, Kaiser), 
but was used in Slavic books for the title of the kings of antiquity as well as 
for the Roman emperors. Peter the Great called himself " Imperator," that 
is, " emperor." The Tsar is also known as " Autocrat of all the Russias." 

2 For contemporaneous accounts of Peter the Great, see Readings in Euro- 
pean History, Vol. II, pp. 303 ff. 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 405 

In 1697-1698 Peter himself visited Germany, Holland, Peter's 
and England with a view to investigating every art and science Europe 1 " 
of the West, as well as the most-approved methods of manu- 
facture, from the making of a man-of-war to the etching of 
an engraving. Nothing escaped the keen eyes of this rude, 




Fig. 107. Peter the Great 

Peter was a tall, strong man, impulsive in action, sometimes vulgarly 
familiar, but always retaining an air of command. When he visited 
Louis XV of France in 17 17, he astonished the court by taking the 
seven-year-old king under the arms and hoisting him up in the air to 
kiss him. The courtiers were much shocked at his conduct 



half-savage northern giant. For a week he put on the wide 
breeches of a Dutch laborer and worked in the shipyard at 
Zaandam near Amsterdam. In England, Holland, and Ger- 
many he engaged artisans, scientific men, architects, ship cap- 
tains, and those versed in artillery and in the training of troops 
— all of whom he took back with him to aid in the reform 
and development of Russia. 



406 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Suppression 
of revolt 
against 
foreign ideas 



Peter's 
reform 
measures 



Founding 
of a new 
capital, St. 
Petersburg 



Russia gains 
provinces on 
the Baltic 



He was called home by the revolt of Russian nobles and 
churchmen who were horrified at Peter's desertion of the 
habits and customs of his forefathers. They hated what they 
called " German ideas," such as short coats, tobacco smoking, 
and beardless faces. Peter took a fearful revenge upon the 
rebels and is said to have himself cut off the heads of many of 
them. Like the barbarian that he was at heart, he left their 
heads and bodies lying about all winter, unburied, in order to 
make the terrible results of revolt against his power quite 
plain to all. 

Peter's reforms extended through his whole reign. He 
made his people give up their cherished oriental beards and 
long flowing garments. He forced the women of the richer 
classes, who had been kept' in a sort of oriental harem, to come 
out and meet the men in social assemblies, such as were com- 
mon in the West. He invited foreigners to settle in Russia, and 
sent young Russians abroad to study. He reorganized the 
government officials on the model of a Western kingdom, and 
made over his army in the same way. 

Finding that the old capital, Moscow, clung persistently to 
its ancient habits, he prepared to found a new capital for his 
new Russia. He selected for this purpose a bit of territory 
on the Baltic which he had conquered from Sweden — very 
marshy, it is true, but where he might hope to construct 
Russia's first real port. Here he built St. Petersburg x at enor- 
mous expense and colonized it with Russians and foreigners. 
Russia was at last becoming a European power. 

The next problem was to get control of the provinces lying 
between the Russian boundary and the Baltic Sea. These be- 
longed to Sweden, which happened to have at that time a very 
warlike young monarch, Charles XII. He filled Europe with 
astonishment for a time by engaging in war with Denmark, 
Poland, and Russia and gaining many surprising victories. But 

1 Changed to Petrograd during the war with Germany in 19 14, so that the 
Russian capital should no longer be called by a German name. 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 407 

his attempt to penetrate into Russia proved as fatal to him as 
a similar attempt did to Napoleon a century later. His prowess 
only served to set back Russia's plans for the moment. Three 
years after his death, which occurred in 17 18, Peter forced 
Sweden to cede to him Livonia, Esthonia, and other Swedish 
territory which had previously cut Russia off from the sea. 

Peter looked with longing eyes on the possessions of the Peter's 
Turks to the south of him, and he made vain attempts to extend extend * 
the Russian control as far as the Black Sea. He did not sue- 5 1 us f ia £: to the 

Black Sea 

ceed in this, but it had become evident that if the Turks were to 
be driven from Europe, Russia would prove a mighty rival of 
the other European powers in the division of the spoils. 

For a generation after the death of Peter the Great, Russia 
fell into the hands of incompetent rulers. It only appears again 
as a European state when the great Catherine II came to the 
throne, in 1762. From that time on, the Western powers had 
always to consider the vast Slavic empire in all their great 
struggles. They had also to consider a new kingdom in north- 
ern Germany, which was just growing into a great power as 
Peter began his work. This was Prussia, whose beginnings we 
must now consider. 



Origin of the Kingdom of Prussia 

83. The electorate of Brandenburg had figured on the map Brandenburg 
of Germany for centuries, and there was no particular reason Hohenzoi- 
to suppose that it was to become one day the dominant state lerns 
in Germany. Early in the fifteenth century the old line of 
electors had died out, and Emperor Sigismund had sold Bran- 
denburg to a hitherto unimportant house, the Hohenzollerns, 
which is known to us now through such names as those of 
Frederick the Great, of William I, the first German emperor, and 
of his grandson, the present Kaiser. Beginning with a strip of 
territory extending some ninety or a hundred miles to the east 
and to the west of the little town of Berlin, the successive 



4o8 



Medieval mid Modem Times 



representatives of the line have gradually extended their bound- 
aries until the present kingdom of Prussia embraces nearly 
two thirds of Germany. Of the earlier little annexations noth- 
ing need be said. While it has always been the pride of the 
Hohenzollern family that almost every one of its reigning 
members has added something to what his ancestors handed 
down to him, no great extension took place until just before the 




Fig. ro8. View of Berlin in 171 7 

Berlin was only a small town until the days of the Great Elector. It 
increased from about 8000 inhabitants in 1650 to about 20,000 in 1688. 
It is therefore a much more modern city than Paris or London. In- 
deed it is about as modern as New York, for most of its great growth 
has taken place in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries 

Thirty Years' War. About that time the elector of Branden- 
burg inherited Cleves and Mark, and thus got his first hold 
on the Rhine district (see map, p. 414). 
Prussia What was quite as important, he won, far to the east, the duchy 

the^Tectorof °f Prussia, which was separated from Brandenburg by Polish 
Brandenburg territory. Prussia was originally the name of a region on the 
Baltic inhabited by heathen Slavs. These had been conquered 
in the thirteenth century by one of the orders of crusading 
knights (the Teutonic order), who, when the conquest of the 
Holy Land was abandoned, looked about for other occupation. 
After the German knights had conquered Prussia it began 
to fill up with German colonists. In Luther's day (1525) the 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 409 

knights were converted to Protestantism and dissolved their 
order. They then formed their lands into the duchy of Prussia, 
and their Grand Master, who was a relative of the elector of 
Brandenburg, became their first duke. About a hundred years 
later (16 18) this branch of the Hohenzollerns died out, and the 
duchy then fell to the elector of Brandenburg. 

Notwithstanding this substantial territorial gain, there was The territo- 
little promise that the hitherto obscure electorate would ever Great Elector 
become a formidable power when, in 1640, Frederick William, ( l6 4°- I 688) 
known as the Great Elector, came to the throne of Branden- 
burg. His territories were scattered from the Rhine to the Vis- 
tula, his army was of small account, and his authority disputed 
by powerful nobles. The center of his domain was Branden- 
burg. Far to the west was Mark, bordering on the Rhine val- 
ley, and Cleves, lying on both banks of that river. Far to the 
east, beyond the Vistula, was the duchy of Prussia (see map). 

The Great Elector was, however, well fitted for the task of Character of 
welding these domains into a powerful state. He was coarse Elector 
by nature, heartless in destroying opponents, treacherous in 
diplomatic negotiations, and entirely devoid of the refinement 
which distinguished Louis XIV and his court. He resolutely 
set to work to increase his territories and his power. 

By shrewd tactics during the closing days of the Thirty Years' The Great 
War he managed to secure, by the Treaty of Westphalia, the makes^mpor- 
bishoprics of Minden and Halberstadt and the duchy of Farther tant .g ains in 

r J territory 

Pomerania, which gave him a good shore line on the Baltic. 

Knowing that the interests of his house depended on military Reforms of 
strength, he organized, in spite of the protests of the taxpayers, Elector** 
an army out of all proportion to the size and wealth of his 
dominions, and this was the beginning of that great Prussian 
war machine that showed its tremendous strength in the conflict 
of 19 1 4. He succeeded in creating an absolute monarchy on the 
model furnished by his contemporary, Louis XIV. He joined 
with England and Holland in their alliances against Louis, and 
the army of Brandenburg began to be known and feared. 



4io 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Huguenots Though a good Protestant, the Great Elector permitted 

Brandenburg religious freedom to a remarkable degree. He made Catholics 

eligible to office and, on the other hand, gave asylum to the 

persecuted Huguenots of France, even offering them special 

inducements to settle in his realms. 




Fig. 109.^ Military Punishment 

The armies of the old regime were mostly made up of hired soldiers or 
serfs, and the officers maintained discipline by cruel punishments. In 
this picture of a Prussian regiment one soldier is being flogged while 
half suspended by his wrists ; another is forced to walk between two 
files of soldiers who must beat his bared back with heavy rods. It has 
been said that these soldiers found war a relief from the terrors of 
peace, since in war time the punishments were lessened 

Brandenburg It was accordingly a splendid legacy which the Great Elector 
kingdom of left m x 688 to his son, Frederick III, and although the career of 
Prussia, 1 70 1 the latter was hy no m eans so brilliant as that of his father, he 
induced the emperor to permit him to change his title from " elec- 
tor" to " king " and so to transform his electorate into a kingdom} 

1 As king of Prussia his title was, of course, Frederick I. 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 411 

The title "King in Prussia" was deemed preferable to the Fredericklll, 
more natural " King of Brandenburg " because Prussia lay Brandenburg, 
wholly without the bounds of the empire, and consequently its p^^ckl^ 
ruler was not in any sense subject to the emperor but was of Prussia 
entirely independent. 1 

The second ruler of the new kingdom, Frederick William I, Government 
the father of Frederick the Great, was a rough and boorish William i* 
king who devoted himself entirely to governing his realm, col- ( I 7 I 3- I 74°) 
lecting tall soldiers, drilling his battalions, hunting wild game, 
and smoking strong tobacco. He was passionately fond of Frederick 
military life from his childhood. He took special pride in stal- t h e Prussian 
wart soldiers and collected them at great expense from all parts arm ^ 
of Europe. He raised the Prussian army, which numbered 
twenty-seven thousand in the days of the Great Elector, to 
eighty-four thousand, making it almost equal to that maintained 
by France or Austria. He was constantly drilling and review- 
ing his men, whom he addressed affectionately as " my blue ' 
children." 

Moreover, by wise management, miserly thrift, and entire Miserly 
indifference to luxury, Frederick William treasured up a huge finances 7 " 
sum of money. He discharged a large number of court serv- 
ants, sold at auction many of the royal jewels, and had a great 
portion of the family table silver coined into money. Conse- 
quently he was able to leave to his son, Frederick II, not only 
an admirable army but an ample supply of gold. Indeed, it was 
his toil and economy that made possible the achievements of 
his far more distinguished son. 



The Wars of Frederick the Great 

84. In his early years Frederick II grieved and disgusted his Accession of 
boorish old father by his dislike for military life and his interest f Prussia 
in books and" music. He was a particular admirer of the French C Q^ d t ",J he 

1786 

1 He was not king of all of Prussia. Frederick the Great changed it to " King 
of Prussia " after the incorporation of the rest, in the partition of Poland. 



412 Medieval and Modern Times 

and preferred their language to his own. No sooner had he be- 
come king, however, than he suddenly developed marvelous 
energy and skill in warlike enterprises. Chance favored his de- 
signs. The emperor Charles VI, the last representative of the 
direct male line of the Hapsburgs, died in 1740, just a few 
months before Frederick ascended the throne, leaving only a 
daughter, Maria Theresa, to inherit his vast and miscellaneous 




Fig. 1 10. Frederick the Great 

dominions. He had induced the other European powers to 
promise to accept the " pragmatic sanction," or solemn will, in 
which he left everything to the young Maria Theresa ; but she 
had no sooner begun to reign than her greedy neighbors prepared 
to seize her lands. Her greatest enemy was the newly crowned 
king of Prussia, who at first pretended friendship for her. 
Frederick determined to seize Silesia, a strip of Hapsburg terri- 
tory lying to the southeast of Brandenburg. He accordingly 
marched his army into the coveted district and occupied the 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 413 

important city of Breslau without declaring war or offering any 
excuse except a vague claim to a portion of the land. 1 

France, stimulated by Frederick's example, joined with Bavaria The War of 
in the attack upon Maria Theresa. It seemed for a time as if succession" 
her struggle to keep her realm intact would be vain, but the 
loyalty of all the various peoples under her scepter was roused 
by her extraordinary courage and energy. The French were 
driven back, but Maria Theresa was forced to grant Silesia 
to Frederick in order to induce him to retire from the war. 
Finally, England and Holland joined in an alliance for main- 
taining the balance of power, for they had no desire to see 
France annex the Austrian Netherlands. A few years later 
(1748) all the powers, tired of the war, — which is known as 
the War of the Austrian Succession, — laid down their arms and 
agreed to what is called in diplomacy the status quo ante bellum, 
which simply means that things were to be restored to the con- 
dition in which they had been before the opening of hostilities. 

Frederick was, however, permitted to keep Silesia, which in- Frederick 
creased his dominions by about one third of their former extent, material 8 
He now turned his attention to making his subjects happier and d ^iopment 
more prosperous, by draining the swamps, promoting industry, 
and drawing up a new code of laws. He found time, also, to 
gratify his interest in men of letters, and invited Voltaire 2 to Frederick 
make his home at Berlin. It will not seem strange to any one 
who knows anything of the character of these two men, that 
they quarreled after two or three years, and that Voltaire left 
the Prussian king with very bitter feelings. 

Maria Theresa was by no means reconciled to the loss The Seven 
of Silesia, and she began to lay her plans for expelling the 

1 As no woman had ever been elected empress, the Duke of Bavaria managed 
to secure the Holy Roman Empire, as Emperor Charles VII. Upon his death, 
however, in 1745, Maria Theresa's husband, Francis, duke of Lorraine, was 
chosen emperor. Their son, Joseph II, succeeded his father in 1765, and upon 
his death, in 1790, his brother Leopold II was elected. When he died, in 1792, the 
empire fell to his son Francis II, who was the last of the "Roman" emperors 
but assumed the new title " Emperor of Austria." See below, p. 545. 

2 See below, pp. 465 ff. 



414 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The alliance 

against 

Prussia 



Frederick's 

victorious 

defense 



Frederick 
finally tri- 
umphs oyer 
Austria 



perfidious Frederick and regaining her lost territory. This led 
to one of the most important wars in modern history, in which 
not only almost every European power joined, but which in- 
volved the whole world, from the Indian rajahs of Hindustan to 
the colonists of Virginia and New England. This Seven Years' 
War (175 6- 1763) will be considered in its broader aspects in 
the next chapter. We note here only the part played in it by 
the king of Prussia. 

Maria Theresa's ambassador at Paris was so skillful in his 
negotiations with the French court that in 1756 he induced it, 
in spite of its two hundred years of hostility to the House of 
Hapsburg, to enter into an alliance with Austria against Prussia. 
Russia, Sweden, and Saxony also agreed to join in a concerted 
attack on Prussia. Their armies, coming as they did from every 
point of the compass, threatened the complete annihilation of 
Austria's rival. It seemed as if the new kingdom of Prussia 
might disappear altogether from the map of Europe. 

However, it was in this war that Frederick earned his title of 
"the Great" and showed himself the equal of the ablest generals 
the world has seen, from Alexander to Napoleon. Learning the 
object of the allies, he did not wait for them to declare war 
against him, but occupied Saxony at once and then moved on 
into Bohemia, where he nearly succeeded in taking the capital, 
Prague. Here he was forced to retire, but in 1757 he defeated 
the French and his German enemies in the most famous, per- 
haps, of his battles, at Rossbach. A month later he routed the 
Austrians brilliantly at Leuthen, not far from Breslau. There- 
upon the Swedes and the Russians retired from the field and 
left Frederick for the moment master of the situation. 

England now engaged the French and left Frederick at liberty 
to deal with his other enemies. W T hile he exhibited marvelous 
military skill, he was by no means able to gain all the battles in 
which he engaged. Money paid him by the English government 
helped him to stay in the field, but for a time it looked as if 
he might, after all, be vanquished. But the accession of a new 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 415 

Tsar, who was an ardent admirer of Frederick, led Russia to 
conclude peace with Prussia, whereupon Maria Theresa reluc- 
tantly agreed to give up once more her struggle with her in- 
veterate enemy. Shortly afterwards England and France came 
to terms, and a general settlement was made at Paris in 1763. 

Three Partitions of Poland, 1772, 1793, and 1795 

85. Frederick's success in seizing and holding one of Austria's 
finest provinces did not satisfy him. The central portions of his 
kingdom — Brandenburg, Silesia, and Pomerania — were com- 
pletely cut off from East Prussia by a considerable tract known 
as West Prussia, which belonged to the kingdom of Poland. 
The map will show how great must have been Frederick's 
temptation to fill this gap, especially as Poland was in no 
condition to defend its possessions. 

With the exception of Russia, Poland was the largest king- Mixed popu- 
dom in Europe. It covered an immense plain with no natural discordant 
boundaries, and the population, which was very thinly scattered, p ll 1 gl0 J ls m 
belonged to several races. Besides the Poles themselves, there 
were Germans in the cities of West Prussia and Russians in 
Lithuania. The Jews were very numerous everywhere, forming 
half of the population in some of the towns. The Poles were 
usually Catholics, while the Germans were Protestants and the 
Russians adhered to the Greek Church. These differences in 
religion, added to those of race, created endless difficulties and 
dissensions. 

The government of Poland was the worst imaginable. Instead The defective 
of having developed a strong monarchy, as her neighbors — emment g ° V " 
Prussia, Russia, and Austria — had done, she remained in a state 
of feudal anarchy, which the nobles had taken the greatest pains 
to perpetuate by binding their kings in such a way that they had 
no power either to maintain order or to defend the country from 
attack. The king could not declare war, make peace, impose 
taxes, or pass any law, without -the consent of the diet. As the 



416 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The liberum 

veto 



The elective 
kingship 



diet was composed of representatives of the nobility, any one of 
whom could freely veto any measure, — for no measure could 
pass that had even one vote against it, — most of the diets broke 
up without accomplishing anything. 

The kingship was not hereditary in Poland, but whenever the 
ruler died, the nobles assembled and chose a new one, commonly 







. 


■ t 




■■• ■ - ..„-'«, 





Fig. hi. The Election of a Polish King in the 
Eighteenth Century 

This is an eighteenth-century engraving of a Polish diet, meeting in 
the open country outside of Warsaw, whose churches are just visible, 
in order to elect a king. In the center of the picture a ditch sur- 
rounds the meeting place of the senators, who are holding a solemn 
public session out in front of their little house. On the plain there are 
processions of nobles and various indications of a celebration 



The Polish 
nobles and 
peasants 



a foreigner. These elections were tumultuous, and the various 
European powers regularly interfered, by force or bribery, to 
secure the election of a candidate whom they believed would 
favor their interests. 

The nobles in Poland were numerous. There were perhaps 
a million and a half of them, mostly very poor, owning only a 
trifling bit of land. There w r as a saying that the poor noble's 
dog, even if he sat in the middle of the estate, was sure to have 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 



417 



his tail upon a neighbor's land. There was no middle class ex- 
cept in the few German towns. The peasants were miserable 
indeed. They had sunk from serfs to slaves over whom their 
lords had the right of life and death. 

It required no great insight to foresee that Poland was in 
danger of falling a prey to her greedy and powerful neighbors, 




Fig. 112. A Cartoon of the Partition of Poland 

Catherine II, Joseph II, and Frederick II are pointing out the part of 

the map of Poland they each propose to take. The king of Poland is 

trying to hold his crown from falling off his head. What is left of 

Poland on the map ? 



Russia, Prussia, and Austria, who clamped in the unfortunate Catherine 11 
kingdom on all sides. They had long shamelessly interfered in erick 11 agree 
its affairs and had actually taken active measures to oppose all ° 



reforms of the constitution in order that they might profit by the 
chronic anarchy. 

The ruler of Russia was the famous Catherine II, who arranged 
with Frederick the Great to prevent any improvement in Poland 



matters, 1764 



4i8 



Medieval and Modem Times 



First parti- 
tion of 
Poland, 1772 



Revival of 

Poland, 

1772-1791 



The new 
Polish 
constitution 
of 1791 



Second parti- 
tion, 1793 



and to keep up and encourage the disorder. Finally, Poland's 
kind neighbors, including Austria, agreed, in 1772, each to take 
a slice of the unhappy kingdom. 

Austria was assigned a strip inhabited by almost three million 
Poles and Russians, and thus added two new kinds of people 
and two new languages to her already varied collection of races 
and tongues. Prussia was given a smaller piece, but it was the 
coveted West Prussia, which she needed to fill out her boundaries, 
and its inhabitants were to a considerable extent Germans and 
Protestants. Russia's strip, on the east, was inhabited entirely 
by Russians. The Polish diet was forced, by the advance of 
Russian troops to Warsaw, to approve the partition. 

Poland seemed at first, however, to have learned a great 
lesson from the disaster. During the twenty years following its 
first dismemberment there was an extraordinary revival in edu- 
cation, art, and literature. Historians and poets sprang up to 
give distinction to the last days of Polish independence. The 
constitution which had made Poland the laughingstock and the 
victim of its neighbors was abolished, and an entirely new one 
worked out. It did away with the free veto of the nobles, made 
the crown hereditary, and established a parliament somewhat 
like that of England. 

Russia had no desire that Poland should become a strong 
monarchy, and it sent soldiers to help the enemies of the new 
constitution on the ground that Russia could not bear to see 
any changes in the government " under which the Polish com- 
monwealth had flourished for so many centuries." Russia and 
Prussia, having secured the continuance of disorder in Poland, 
declared that they could not put up with such a dangerous 
neighbor and proceeded to a second partition in 1793. Prussia 
cut deep into Poland, added a million and a half of Poles to her 
subjects, and acquired the towns of Thorn, Danzig, and Posen. 
Russia's gains were three millions of people, who at least be- 
longed to her own race. On this occasion Austria was put off 
with the promises of her confederates, Russia and Prussia, that 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 419 

they would use their good offices to secure Bavaria for her in 
exchange for the Austrian Netherlands. 

At this juncture the Poles found a national leader in the brave Revolt of 
Kosciusko, who had fought under Washington for American Kosciusko 
liberty. With the utmost care and secrecy he organized an in- I794 
surrection in the spring of 1794 and summoned the Polish people 
to join his standard of national independence. The Poles who 
had been incorporated into the Prussian monarchy thereupon 
rose and forced Prussia to withdraw its forces. 

Russia was ready, however, to crush the patriots. Kosciusko Third and 
was wounded and captured in battle, and by the end of the t ion ; ^7 9 5 
year Russia was in control of Warsaw. The Polish king was 
compelled to abdicate, and the remnants of the dismembered king- 
dom were divided, after much bitter contention, among Austria, 
Russia, and Prussia. In the three partitions which blotted out 
the kingdom of Poland from the map of Europe, Russia received 
nearly twice the combined shares of Austria and Prussia. 



The Austrian Realms : Maria Theresa and 
Joseph II 

86. While the Hohenzollerns of Prussia from their capital The Haps- 
at Berlin had been extending their power over northern Ger- Austria 1 
many, the great house of Hapsburg, established in the south- 
eastern corner of Germany, with its capital at Vienna, had 
been grouping together, by conquest or inheritance, the vast 
realm over much of which they still rule. It will be remem- 
bered that Charles V, shortly after his accession, ceded to his 
brother, Ferdinand I, the German or Austrian possessions of 
the house of Hapsburg, 1 while he himself retained the Spanish, 
Burgundian, and Italian dominions. Ferdinand, by a fortunate 
marriage with the heiress of the kingdoms of Bohemia and 
Hungary, greatly augmented his territory. 2 Hungary was, 

1 For the origin of the Austrian dominions, see above, pp. 268 ff. 

2 See above, p. 331. 



420 



Medieval and Modern Times 



however, almost completely conquered by the Turks at that 
time, and till the end of the seventeenth century the energies 
of the Austrian rulers were largely absorbed in a long struggle 
against the Mohammedans. 

A Turkish tribe from western Asia had, at the opening of the 
fourteenth century, established themselves in western Asia Minor 
under their leader Othman (d. 1326). It was from him that they 
derived their name of Ottoman Turks, to distinguish them from 
the Seljuk Turks, with whom the crusaders had come into con- 
tact. The leaders of the Ottoman Turks showed great energy. 
They not only extended their Asiatic territory far toward the 
east, and later into Africa, but they gained a footing in Europe 
as early as 1353. They gradually conquered the Slavic peoples 
in Macedonia and occupied the territory about Constantinople, 
although it was a hundred years before they succeeded in cap- 
turing the ancient capital of the Eastern Empire. 

This advance of the Turks naturally aroused grave fears in 
the states of western Europe lest they too might be deprived of 
their independence. The brunt of the defense against the com- 
mon foe devolved upon Venice and the German Hapsburgs, 
who carried on an almost continuous war with the Turks for 
nearly two centuries. As late as 1683 the Mohammedans col- 
lected a large force and besieged Vienna, which might very well 
have fallen into their hands had it not been for the timely assist- 
ance which the city received from the king of -Poland. From 
this time on, the power of the Turks in Europe rapidly decreased, 
and the Hapsburgs were able to regain the whole territory of 
Hungary and Transylvania, their possessions of which was 
formally recognized by the Sultan in 1699. 

The conquest of Silesia by Frederick the Great was more 
than a severe blow to the pride of Maria Theresa ; for, since it 
was inhabited by Germans, its loss lessened the Hapsburg 
power inside the empire. In extent of territory the Hapsburgs 
more than made up for it by the partitions of Poland, but since 
the Poles were an alien race, they added one more difficulty to 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 421 

the very difficult problem of ruling so many different peoples, Peoples 
each of whom had a different language and different customs JS/Haps* Y 
and institutions. The Hapsburg possessions were inhabited by bur s s 
Germans in Austria proper, a Slav people (the Czechs) mixed 
with Germans in Bohemia and Moravia, Poles in Galicia, Hun- 
garians or Magyars along with Roumanians and smaller 
groups of other peoples in Hungary, Croats and Slovenes 




Fig. 113. Maria Theresa 

(both Slavs) in the south, Italians in Milan and Tuscany, and 
Flemish and Walloons in the Netherlands. 

Maria Theresa ruled these races with energy and .skill. She Enlightened 
patiently attended to all the tiresome matters of State, read Theresa anT 
long documents and reports, and conferred with the ambassa- J° se P h n 
dors of foreign powers. After her long reign of forty years 
her son Joseph, who had already been elected emperor as 
Joseph II, tried in the ten years of his rule (1 780-1 790) to 
modernize these backward states of southeastern Europe by a 
series of sweeping reforms. He was a very enlightened man and 



422 Medieval and Modem Times 

with something of the impetuous zeal of Peter the Great tried 
to sweep away at once the old abuses of feudalism, to introduce 
more general education, and to lessen the power of the clergy. 
He even abolished six hundred monasteries. Besides this he 
attempted to govern more and more from one center where 
he could oversee matters himself, a scheme which also seemed 
to promise greater unity to his realms. But his peoples did not 
understand his ideas or feared the growth of his own power, 




Fig. 114. Joseph II 

and he was opposed on every hand. He died just as the Revolu- 
tion in France was beginning to show that a nation could do 
for itself in a few months what a king could not do in a lifetime. 
It must be admitted, however, that the problems which con- 
fronted Maria Theresa and Joseph II were much more diffi- 
cult than those of France or England. Poles, Italians, Magyars, 
and Germans could never be united into one state by such 
common interests as Englishmen or Frenchmen have felt so 
keenly in the last two centuries. Instead of fusing together to 



Rise of Russia and Prussia ; Austria 423 

form a nation, the peoples ruled over by the Hapsburgs have Why Austria 
been on such bad terms with each other that it sometimes V ei p°as t 
seemed as if they would split apart, forming separate nations, 5onaistat 
Moreover, since some of these peoples, especially the Slavs, 
Poles, and Roumanians, live in neighboring states as well, the 
Hapsburg monarchy is much concerned in what happens out- 
side its borders. The immediate cause of the terrible European 
war which began in 19 14 was trouble between Austria and her 
neighbor Serbia. So if one hopes to understand the great ques- 
tions of our own time he must follow carefully the complicated 
history of Austria and her ever-changing realms. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 81. In what portions of eastern Europe were the Slavs 
settling during the barbarian invasions ? What is supposed to be the 
origin of the name " Russia " ? Give some of the results of the 
domination of Russia by the Mongols. 

Section 82. What were the boundaries of Russia upon the acces- 
sion of Peter the Great ? What territories did he add ? What were 
some of Peter's reforms ? 

Section 83. Explain how the elector of Brandenburg came to 
have the title of " King of Prussia." Mention some of the chief rulers 
of the Hohenzollern line. What had been accomplished toward 
making Prussia a great European power before the accession of 
Frederick the Great? 

Section 84. Give an account of the War of the Austrian Suc- 
cession. What were the chief events of the Seven Years' War? What 
have you learned of Frederick the Great? Why was he a great 
admirer of the French? 

Section 85. Describe the conditions in Poland in the eighteenth 
century. How was the first partition of Poland arranged ? When did 
the second partition take place and why was Austria left out ? Under 
what conditions did the third partition take place ? 

Section 86. Explain the relations of Austria and the Turks. 
What was the extent of the Hapsburg dominions when Maria 
Theresa came to the throne? Compare the reign of Joseph II with 
those of Peter the Great and of Frederick II. Why is Austria speci- 
ally interesting to us to-day ? 



CHAPTER XX 



HOW ENGLAND BECAME QUEEN OF THE OCEAN 

England after the Revolution of 1688 



87. In the last chapter we reviewed the progress of affairs 
in eastern Europe and noted the development of two new 
European powers, Prussia and Russia, which have for the past 
two centuries played a great part in the affairs of the world. 
In the west, England was rapidly becoming the most important 
state. While she did not greatly influence the course of the 
wars on the Continent she was already beginning to make her- 
self mistress of the seas — a position which she still holds, 
owing to her colonies and her unrivaled fleet. 

At the close of the War of the Spanish Succession her navy 
was superior to that of any other power, for both France and 
Spain had been greatly weakened by the long cQnflict. Fifty 
years after the Treaty of Utrecht, England had succeeded in 
driving out the French both from North America and from 
India and in planting her vast empire beyond the seas, which 
still gives her the commercial supremacy of the world. 

With the accession of William and Mary in 1688 1 England 
may be said to have settled the two great questions that had 
produced such serious dissensions during the previous fifty 
years. In the first place, the nation had clearly shown that 
it proposed to remain Protestant in spite of the Catholic 
sympathies of her Stuart kings ; and the relations between 
the Church of England and the dissenters were gradually be- 
ing satisfactorily adjusted. In the second place, the powers 
of the king had been carefully defined, and from the opening 

1 See above, pp. 384 f. 
424 



Hozv England became Queen of the Ocean 425 



1702-1714 



of the eighteenth century to the present time no English 
monarch has ventured to veto an act of Parliament. 1 

William III was succeeded in 1702 by his sister-in-law, Anne, Queen Anne, 
a younger daughter of James II. Far more important than 
the war which her generals carried on against Spain was the 
final union of England and Scotland. As we have seen, the 
difficulties between the two countries had led to much blood- 
shed and suffering ever *since Edward I's futile attempt to con- 
quer Scotland. 2 The two countries had, it is true, been under 






England (St. George) 



Scotland (St. Andrew) 



Ireland (St. Patrick) 





Great Britain Great Britain and Ireland 

Fig. 115. The Union Jack 3 

the same ruler since the accession of James I, but each had The union of 
maintained its own independent parliament and system of gov-- Scotland 
ernment. Finally, in 1707, both nations agreed to unite their l7 ° 7 
governments into one. Forty-five members of the British House 
of Commons were to be chosen thereafter in Scotland, and six- 
teen Scotch lords were to be added to the British House of 
Lords. In this way the whole island of Great Britain was placed 



1 The last instance in which an English ruler vetoed a measure passed by 
Parliament was in 1707. 2 See above, pp. 130 ff. 

3 The flag of Great Britain, combining the crosses of St. George and St. 
Andrew, was called the Union Jack from Jacques, the French form of James I, 
the first king of Great Britain. The cross of Ireland was added upon its union 
with Great Britain in 1801. Upright lines indicate red ; horizontal lines, blue. 



426 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Accession of 
George I 
(1714-1727), 
the first of 
the house of 
Hanover 



under a single government, and the occasions for strife were 
thereby greatly reduced. 

Since none of Anne's children survived her, she was suc- 
ceeded, according to an arrangement made before her accession, 
by the nearest Protestant heir. This was the son of James I's 
granddaughter Sophia. She had married the elector of Han- 
over 1 ; consequently the new king of England, George I, was also 
elector of Hanover and a member of the Holy Roman Empire. 



James I (1603-1625) 



Charles I 
(1625-1649) 



Elizabeth, m. Frederick V, 
Elector of the 

Palatinate 
(Winter King 
of Bohemia) 



Charles II (1) Anne Hyde, m. James II, m (2) Mary of Sophia, m. Ernest 



(1660-1685) 



(1685-1689) 



William III, m. Mary Anne 

(1689-1702) (1689-1694) (1702-1714) 



Modena 



James (the 
Old Pretender) 



Charles Edward 
(the Young Pre- 
tender) 



Augustus, 
elector of 
Hanover 



George I 
(1714-1727) 

George II 
(1 727-1 760) 

Frederick, 

Prince of Wales 

(d. 1751) 

George III 
(1 760-1820) 



England and 
the " balance 
of power " 



William of Orange had been a continental statesman before 
he became king of England, and his chief aim had always been 
to prevent France from becoming overpowerful. He had joined 
in the War of the Spanish Succession in order to maintain the 
" balance of power " between the various European countries. 2 
During the eighteenth century England continued, for the same 

1 Originally there had been seven electors (see above, p. 281), but the Duke 
of Bavaria had been made an elector during the Thirty Years' War, and in 1692 
the father of George I had been permitted to assume the title of " Elector of 
Hanover." 

2 Wolsey, it will be recalled, advanced the same reason in Henry VI I I's time 
for England's intervention in continental wars. See above, p. 315. 



How England became Queen of the Ocean 427 

reason, to engage in the struggles between the continental 
powers, although she had no expectation of attempting to ex- 
tend her sway across the Channel. The wars which she waged in 
order to increase her own power and territory were carried on in 
distant parts of the world, and more often on sea than on land. 

For a quarter of a century after the Treaty of Utrecht, Eng- Peace under 
land enjoyed peace. 1 Under the influence of Walpole, who for pr^ e as 
twenty-one years directed the government and who was the first mini ster, 
to be called prime minister, peace was maintained within and 
without. Not only did Walpole avoid going to war with other 
countries, but he was careful to prevent the ill feeling at home 
from developing into civil strife. His principle was to " let 
sleeping dogs lie " ; so he strove to conciliate the dissenters 
and to pacify the Jacobites, 2 as those were called who still 
desired to have the Stuarts return. 

When, in 1740, Frederick the Great and the French attacked England in 
Maria Theresa, England's sympathies were with the injured the Austrian 
queen. As elector of Hanover, George II (who had succeeded Succession 
his father in 1727), led an army of German troops against 
the French and defeated them on the river Main. Frederick 
then declared war on England ; and France sent the grandson 
of James II, 8 the Young Pretender, as he was called, with a 
fleet to invade England. The attempt failed, for the fleet was 
dispersed by a storm. In 1745 the French defeated the Eng- 
lish and Dutch forces in the Netherlands ; this encouraged the 
Young Pretender to make another attempt to gain the English " Prince 
crown. He landed in Scotland, where he found support among Young Pre- 6 
the Highland chiefs, and even Edinburgh welcomed " Prince Jf^^ 
Charlie." He was able to collect an army of six thousand men, 

1 Except in 1718-1720, when she joined an alliance against Spain, and her 
admiral, Byng, destroyed the Spanish fleet. 

2 Derived from Jacofois, the Latin for James. The name was applied to 
the adherents of James II and of his son and grandson, the elder and younger 
pretenders to the throne. 

3 It will be remembered that the children of James II by his second and 
Catholic wife, Mary of Modena, were excluded from the throne at the accession 
of William and Mary. 



in 

Scotland 



428 



Medieval and Modern Times 



with which he marched into England. He was quickly forced 
back into Scotland, however, and after a disastrous defeat on 
Culloden Moor (1746) and many romantic adventures, he was 
glad to reach France once more in safety. 

Soon after the close of the War of the Austrian Succession 
in 1748, England entered upon a series of wars which were 
destined profoundly to affect not only her position, but also the 
fate of distant portions of the globe. In order to follow these 
changes intelligently we must briefly review the steps by which 
the various European states had extended their sway over 
regions separated from them by the ocean. 



The history 
of Europe 
only to be 
explained by 
the history 
of Europe's 
colonies 



Vast extent 
of the Euro- 
pean colonial 
dominion 



How Europe began to extend its Commerce 
over the Whole World 

88. The long and disastrous wars of the eighteenth century 
were much more than merely quarrels of monarchs. They were 
also caused by commercial and colonial rivalries, and they ex- 
tended to the most distant parts of the world. In the War of 
the Spanish Succession, the trade of Spain was at stake as well 
as the throne. From the seventeenth century on, the internal 
affairs of each country have been constantly influenced by the 
demands of its merchants and the achievements of its sailors 
and soldiers, fighting rival nations or alien peoples thousands 
of miles from London, Paris, or Vienna. The great manu- 
facturing towns of England — Leeds, Manchester, and Bir- 
mingham — owe their prosperity to India, China, and Australia. 
Liverpool, Amsterdam, and Hamburg, with their long lines of 
docks and warehouses and their fleets of merchant vessels, would 
dwindle away if their trade were confined to the demands of 
their European neighbors. 

Europe includes scarcely a twelfth of the land upon the globe 
and yet over three fifths of the world is to-day either occupied 
by peoples of European origin or ruled by European states. 
The possessions of France in Asia and Africa exceed the entire 



How England became Queen of the Ocean 429 

area of Europe ; even the little kingdom of the Netherlands 
administers a colonial dominion three times the size of the Ger- 
man Empire. The British Empire, of which the island of Great 
Britain constitutes but a hundredth part, includes one fifth of 




Fig. 116. A Naval Battle between Sailing Ships 

This is the way the rival navies of Holland, France, and England 
fought in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Note how the 
ships sail right up to the foe and fire broadsides at close range. The 
large ship in front has rammed an enemy ship ; this was often done, 
not with the idea of sinking it, since the heavily timbered wooden ships 
did not sink so easily as ironclads will, but in order that a boarding 
party could clamber over onto its decks. Thus naval warfare still re- 
sembled somewhat the method of fighting of the Greeks and Romans 



the world's dry land. Moreover, European peoples have popu- 
lated the United States (which is nearly as large as all of 
Europe), Mexico, and South America. 

The widening of the field of European history is one of the Narrow limits 
most striking features of modern times. . Though the Greeks and and medS 
Romans carried on a large trade in silks, spices, and precious world 



430 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Colonial 
policy of 
Portugal, 
Spain, and 
Holland in 
the sixteenth 
and seven- 
teenth 
centuries 



Settlements 
of the French 
and English 
in North 
America 



stones with India and China, they really knew little of the 
world beyond southern Europe, northern Africa, and western 
Asia, and much that they knew was forgotten during the Mid- 
dle Ages. Slowly, however, the interest in the East revived, and 
travelers began to add to the scanty knowledge handed down 
from antiquity. 

The voyages which had brought America and India within 
the ken of Europe during the fifteenth and early sixteenth cen- 
turies were, as we know, mainly undertaken by the Portuguese 
and the Spaniards. Portugal was the first to realize the advan- 
tage of extending her commerce by establishing stations in 
India after Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope 
in 1498 j 1 and later by founding posts on the Brazilian coast of 
South America ; then Spain laid claim to Mexico, the West 
Indies, and a great part of South America. These two powers 
later found a formidable rival in the Dutch, who succeeded in 
expelling the Portuguese from a number of their settlements in 
India and the Spice Islands, and brought Java, Sumatra, and 
other tropical regions under Dutch control. 

In North America the chief rivals were England and France, 
both of which succeeded in establishing colonies in the early 
part of the seventeenth century. Englishmen settled at James- 
town in Virginia (1607), then in New England, Maryland, 
Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. The colonies owed their growth 
in part to the influx of refugees, — Puritans, Catholics, and 
Quakers, — who exiled themselves in the hope of gaining the 
right freely to enjoy their particular forms of religion. 2 On the 
other hand, many came in order to better their fortunes in 
the New World, and thousands of bond servants and slaves 
were brought over as laborers. 

Just as Jamestown was being founded by the English the 
French were making their first successful settlement in Nova 
Scotia and at Quebec. Although England made no attempt to 
oppose it, the French occupation of Canada progressed very 

1 See above, pp. 232.fr. 2 See above, p. 372. 



How England became Queen of the Ocean 431 

slowly. In 1673 Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Joliet, a 
merchant, explored a part of the Mississippi River. 1 La Salle 
sailed down the great stream and named the new country which 
he entered, Louisiana, after his king. The city of New Orleans 
was founded, near the mouth of the river, in 17 18, and the 
French established a chain of forts between it and Montreal. 

The Contest between France and England 
for Colonial Empire 

89. The contest between England and France for the 
supremacy in North America was responsible for almost con- 
tinuous border war, which burst out more fiercely with each 
war in the Old World. Finally, England was able, by the Treaty 
of Utrecht, to establish herself in the northern regions, for 
France thereby ceded to her Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and 
the borders of Hudson Bay. While the English in North America 
at the beginning of the Seven Years' War numbered over a 
million, the French did not reach a hundred thousand. 

The rivalry of England and France was not confined to the 
wildernesses of North America, occupied by half a million of Extent of 
savage red men. At the opening of the eighteenth century both 
countries had gained a firm foothold on the borders of the vast 
Indian empire, inhabited by two hundred millions of people and 
the seat of an ancient and highly developed civilization. One 
may gain some idea of the extent of India by laying the map of 
Hindustan upon that of the United States. If the southern- 
most point, Cape Comorin, be placed over New Orleans, Cal- 
cutta will lie nearly over New York City, and Bombay in the 
neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa. 

A generation after Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape, a 
Mongolian conqueror, Baber, had established his empire in The Mongo- 
India. The dynasty of Mongolian rulers which he founded was JJTHtaSSS 
able to keep the whole country under its control for nearly 

1 For Marquette's account, see Readings in European History, Vol. 1 1, pp. 345 ff . 



432 



Medieval and Modem Times 



two centuries ; then after the death of the Great Mogul Aurung- 
zeb, in 1707, their empire began to fall apart in much the same 
way as that of Charlemagne had done. Like the counts and 
dukes of the Carolingian period, the emperor's officials, the 
subahdars and nawabs (nabobs), and the rajahs (Hindu princes 




Fig. 117. The Taj Mahal 

This mausoleum of an emperor was built at Agra, India, in 1632. It 
has been described as "the most splendidly poetic building in the 
world ... a dream in marble, which justifies the saying that the 
Moguls designed like Titans but finished like jewelers." The entire 
building is of white marble, inlaid with precious stones. Although this 
is regarded as the most perfect monument, India has many others of 
great magnificence, witnesses of the power and wealth of her princes 

who had been subjugated by the Mongols) had gradually got 
the power in their respective districts into their own hands. 
Although the emperor, or Great Mogul, as the English called 
him, continued to maintain himself in his capital of Delhi, he 
could no longer be said to rule the country at the opening 
of the eighteenth century when the French and English were 
beginning to turn their attention seriously to his coasts. 




Napoleon I 






How England became Queen of the Ocean 433 



In the time of Charles I (1639) a village had been pur- 
chased by the English East India Company on the southeastern 
coast of Hindustan, which grew into the important English 
station of Madras. About the same time posts were established 
in the district of Bengal, and later Calcutta was fortified. Bom- 
bay was already an English station. The Mongolian emperor 
of India at first scarcely deigned to notice the presence of 
a few foreigners on the fringe of his vast realms, but before 
the end of the seventeenth century hostilities began between 
the English East India Company and the native rulers, which 
made it plain that the foreigners would be forced to defend 
themselves. 

The English had to face not only the opposition of the natives, 
but that of a European power as well. France also had an East 
India Company, and at the opening of the eighteenth century 
Pondicherry was its chief center, with a population of sixty thou- 
sand, of which two hundred only were Europeans. It soon 
became apparent that there was little danger from the Great 
Mogul ; moreover the Portuguese and Dutch were out of the 
race, so the native princes and the French and English were 
left to fight among themselves for the supremacy. 

Just before the clash of European rulers, known as the Seven 
Years' War, came, in 1756, the French and English had begun 
their struggle in both America and India. In America the so- 
called French and Indian War began in 1754 between the 
English and French colonists. General Braddock was sent from 
England to capture Fort Duquesne, which the French had es- 
tablished to keep their rivals out of the Ohio valley. Braddock 
knew nothing of border warfare, and he was killed and his troops 
routed. Fortunately for England, France, as the ally of Austria, 
was soon engaged in a war with Prussia that prevented her from 
giving proper attention to her American possessions. A famous 
statesman, the elder Pitt, 1 was now at the head of the English 
ministry. He was able not only to succor the hard-pressed king 

I So called to distinguish him from his son, prime minister later. 



English and 
French settle- 
ments in 
India 



England 
victorious in 
the struggle 
for suprem- 
acy in 
America 



William Pitt 
(Earl of 
Chatham) 



434 



Medieval and Modem Times 



of Prussia with money and men, but also to support the militia 
of the thirteen American colonies in their attacks upon the 
French. The French forts at Ticonderoga and Niagara were 
taken; Quebec was won in Wolfe's heroic attack, 1759; and 
the next year all Canada submitted to the English. England's 
supremacy on the sea was demonstrated by three admirals, 
each of whom destroyed a French fleet. 

In India conflicts between the French and the English had 
occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession. The 



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Fig. 118. Quebec 

Wolfe's army climbed the cliff (over 300 feet high) to the west of the 

city (left of the picture) and fought there on the plain known as the 

Heights of Abraham 

governor of the French station of Pondicherry was Dupleix, 
a soldier of great energy, who proposed to drive out the Eng- 
lish and firmly establish the power of France over Hindustan. 
His chances of success were greatly increased by the quarrels 
among the native rulers, some of whom belonged to the earlier 
Hindu inhabitants and some to the Mohammedan Mongolians 
who had conquered India in 1526. Dupleix had very few 
French soldiers, but he began the enlistment of the natives, a 




83 THE M-N. WORM 



How England became Queen of the Ocean 435 



custom eagerly adopted by the English. These native soldiers, 
whom the English called Sepoys, were taught to fight in the 
manner of Europeans. 

But the English colonists, in spite of the fact that they were 
mainly traders, discovered among the clerks in Madras a leader 
equal in military skill and energy to Dupleix himself. Robert 
Clive, who was but twenty-five years 
old at this time, organized a large 
force of Sepoys and gained a re- 
markable ascendancy over them by 
his astonishing bravery. 

At the moment that the Seven 
Years' War was beginning, bad news 
reached Clive from the English 
settlement of Calcutta, about a 
thousand miles to the northeast of 
Madras. The nawab of Bengal had 
seized the property of some English 
merchants and imprisoned one hun- 
dred and forty-five Englishmen in a 
little room, — the " black hole " of 
Calcutta, — where most of them 
died of suffocation before morning. 1 
Clive hastened to Bengal, and with 
a little army of nine hundred Euro- 
peans and fifteen hundred Sepoys 
he gained a great victory at Plassey, 
in 1757, over the nawab's army of 
fifty thousand men. Clive then replaced the nawab of Bengal 
by a man whom he believed to be friendly to the English. 
Before the Seven Years' War was over, the English had 
won Pondicherry and deprived the French of all their former 
influence in the region of Madras. 




Fig. 119. Monument on 

the Site of the Black 

Hole 

The prison where one hun- 
dred and forty-five men and 
one woman were confined 
was only 18 feet by 14 feet, 
with two small windows 2 



Robert Clive 
organizes the 
native troops 



Clive renders 
English influ- 
ence supreme 
in India 



1 See Readings in European History, Vol. II, pp. 339 ff. 

2 See Readings in Modem European History, Vol. I, p. 107. 



436 



Medieval and Modern Times 



When the Seven Years' War was brought to an end, in 
1763, by the Treaty of Paris, it was clear that England had 
gained far more than any other power. She was to retain her 
two forts commanding the Mediterranean — Gibraltar, and Port 
Mahon on the island of Minorca ; in America, France ceded 
to her the vast region of Canada and Nova Scotia, as well as 




Fig. 120. William Pitt 

Pitt, more than any other one man, was responsible for the victories of 
England in the Seven Years' War. A great orator, as well as a shrewd 
statesman, he inspired his country with his own great ideals. He boldly 
upheld in Parliament the cause of the American colonists, but died 
before he could check the policy of the king 

several of the islands in the West Indies. The region beyond 
the Mississippi was ceded to Spain by France, who thus gave 
up all her claims to North America. In India, France, it is 
true, received back the towns which the English had taken 
from her, but she had permanently lost her influence over the 
native rulers, for Clive had made the English name greatly 
feared among: them. 



Hozv England became Queen of the Ocean 437 

Revolt of the American Colonies from England 

90. England had, however, no sooner added Canada to her 
possessions and driven the French from the broad region which 
lay between her dominions and the Mississippi than she lost the 
better part of her American empire by the revolt of the irritated 
colonists, who refused to submit to her interference in their 
government and commerce. 

The English settlers had been left alone, for the most part, For a long 
by the home government and had enjoyed far greater freedom S^Tleft her 
in the management of their affairs than had the colonies of France ?? lomes vei 7 
and Spain. Virginia established its own assembly in 16 19, and 
Massachusetts became almost an independent commonwealth. 
England had been busied during the seventeenth century with 
a great struggle at home and with the wars stirred up by 
Louis XIV. After the Peace of Utrecht, Walpole for twenty 
years prudently refused to interfere with the colonies. The re- 
sult was that by the end of the Seven Years' War the colonists 
numbered over two millions. Their rapidly increasing wealth 
and strength, their free life in a new land, and the confidence 
they had gained in their successful conflict with the French — 
all combined to render the renewed interference of the home 
government intolerable to them. 

During the war with the French, England began to realize for England 
the first time that the colonies had money, and so Parliament colonies 
decided that they should be required to pay part of the ex- 
penses of the recent conflict and support a small standing army 
of English soldiers. The Stamp Act was therefore passed, Stamp Act 
which taxed the colonists by requiring them to pay the English 
government for stamps which had to be used upon leases, deeds, 
and other legal documents in order to make them binding. The 
colonists were indignant, for, while they were not unwilling to 
contribute to the mother country, they declared that according 
to the principles of the English constitution, a Parliament in 
which they were not represented had no right to tax them. 



of .1765 



438 Medieval and Modern Times 

Representatives of the colonies met in New York in 1765 and 
denounced the Stamp Act as indicating " a manifest tendency 
to subvert the rights and liberties of the colonies." 

More irritating than the attempts of Great Britain to tax 
the colonists were the vexatious navigation and trade laws by 
which, like the other nations of the time, she tried to keep all 
the benefits of colonial trade and industry to herself. The early 
navigation laws passed under Cromwell and Charles II were 
specially directed against the enterprising Dutch traders. They 
provided that all products grown or manufactured in Asia, 
Africa, or America should be imported into England or her 
colonies only in English ships. But if the laws were directed 
against the Dutch, they worked hardships to the colonists as 
well. Thus if a Dutch merchant vessel laden with cloves, cinna- 
mon, teas, and silks from the Far East anchored in the harbor of 
New York, the inhabitants could not lawfully buy of the ship's 
master, no matter how much lower his prices were than those 
offered by English shippers. Furthermore, another act pro- 
vided that no commodity of European production or manu- 
facture should be imported into any of the colonies without 
being shipped through England and carried in ships built in 
England or the colonies. So if a colonial merchant wished to 
buy French wines or Dutch watches, he would have to order 
through English merchants. Again, if a colonist desired to sell 
to a European merchant such products as the law permitted 
him to sell to foreigners, he had to export them in English 
ships and even send them by way of England. 

What was still worse for the colonists, certain articles in 
which they were most interested, such as sugar, tobacco, cotton, 
and indigo, could be sold only in England. Certain other things 
they were forbidden to export at all or even to produce. For 
instance, though they possessed the finest furs in abundance, 
they could not export any caps or hats to England or to any 
foreign country. They had iron ore in inexhaustible quantities 
at their disposal, but by a law of 1750 they were forbidden to 



How England became Queen of the Ocean 439 

erect any rolling mill or furnace for making steel, in order that 
English steel manufactures might enjoy a monopoly of that trade. 

The colonists naturally evaded these laws as far as possible ; The colonists 
they carried on a prosperous smuggling trade and built up English 6 
industries in spite of them. Tobacco, sugar, hemp, flax, and restnctl0ns 
cotton were grown, and cloth was manufactured. Furnaces, 
foundries, nail mills and wire mills supplied pig iron and bar 
iron, chains, anchors, and other hardware. It is clear that where 
so many people were interested both in manufacturing and in 
commerce a loud protest was sure to be raised against the 
continued attempts of England to restrict the business of the 
colonists in favor of her own merchants. 

Parliament withdrew the unpopular stamp tax, but declared Taxes with- 
that it had a perfect right to tax the colonies as well as to that^n tea 
make laws for them. Soon new duties on glass, paper, and tea 
were imposed, and a government board was established to se- 
cure a firm observance of the navigation laws and other restric- 
tions. But the protests of the colonists finally moved Parliament 
to remove all the duties except that on tea, which was retained to 
prove England's right to tax the colonists and was later used to 
benefit the English East India Company. 

The effort to make the Americans pay a very moderate import Opposition to 
duty on tea and to force upon Boston markets the company's withouTrep- 
tea at a low price produced trouble in 1773. The young men resentation" 
of Boston seditiously boarded a tea ship in the harbor and 
threw the cargo into the water. Burke, perhaps the most able 
member of the House of Commons, urged the ministry to allow 
the Americans to tax themselves, but George III, and Parlia- 
ment as a whole, could not forgive the colonists for their oppo- 
sition. They believed that the trouble was largely confined to 
New England and could easily be overcome. In 1774 acts were 
passed prohibiting the landing and shipping of goods at Boston ; 
and the colony of Massachusetts was deprived of its former 
right to choose its judges and the members of the upper house 
of its legislature, who were thereafter to be selected by the king. 



440 



Medieval and Modern Times 



These measures, instead of bringing Massachusetts to terms, 
so roused the apprehension of the rest of the colonists that a 
congress of all the colonists was held at Philadelphia in 1774. 
This congress decided that all trade with Great Britain should 
cease until the grievances of the colonies had been redressed. 
The following year the Americans attacked the British troops 
at Lexington and made a brave stand against them in the 
battle of Bunker Hill. The second congress decided to prepare 
for war, and raised an army which was put under the command 
of George Washington, a Virginia planter who had gained 
some distinction in the late French and Indian War. Up to 
this time the colonies had not intended to secede from the 
mother country, but the proposed compromises came to nothing, 
and in July, 1776, Congress declared that "these United States 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent." 

This occurrence naturally excited great interest in France. 
The outcome of the Seven Years' War had been most lamen- 
table for that country, and any trouble which came to her old 
enemy, England, could not but be a source of congratulation to 
the French. The United States therefore regarded France as 
their natural ally and immediately sent Benjamin Franklin to 
Versailles in the hope of obtaining the aid of the new French 
king, Louis XVI. The king's' ministers were uncertain whether 
the colonies could long maintain their resistance against the over- 
whelming strength of the mother country. It was only after the 
Americans had defeated Burgoyne at Saratoga that France, in 
1778, concluded a treaty with the United States in which the 
independence of the new republic was recognized. This was 
tantamount to declaring war upon England. The enthusiasm 
for the Americans was so great in France that a number of the 
younger nobles, the most conspicuous of whom was the Marquis 
de Lafayette, crossed the Atlantic to fight in the American army. 

In spite of the skill and heroic self-sacrifice of Washington the 
Americans lost more battles than they gained. It is extremely 
doubtful whether they would have succeeded in bringing the 



Hozv England became Queen of tJie Ocean 44 1 

war to a favorable close, by forcing the English general, Corn- England ac- 
wallis, to capitulate at Yorktown (1781), had it not been for ttoe°in<Lpend- 
the aid of the French fleet. The chief result of the war was T^ c !°ic the 

United States 

the recognition by England of the independence of the United 
States, whose territory was to extend to the Mississippi River. 
To the west of the Mississippi the vast territory of Louisiana 
still remained in the hands of Spain, and Spain also held Florida, 
which England had held since 1763 but now gave back. 

Spain and Portugal were able to hold their American pos- Revolt of the 
sessions a generation longer than were the English, but in the n ieftnebe-° 
end nearly all of the western hemisphere, with the exception £ nnmgof 

J r ' r the emanci- 

of Canada, completely freed itself from the domination of the pation of the 

„ <• 1 1 • r • western hemi- 

European powers. Cuba, one of the last vestiges of Spanish sphere 
rule in the West, gained its independence with the aid of the 
United States, in 1898. 



QUESTIONS 

Section Sy. What important questions did the accession of Wil- 
liam and Mary settle ? When and on what terms were England and 
Scotland united? When and why did the House of Hanover come 
to the English throne ? What do you understand by the " balance 
of power " ? Who was the Young Pretender and what attempts did 
he make to gain the English throne ? 

Section 88. Why must we study the European colonies in order 
to understand European History ? What countries preceded England 
in acquiring colonies ? Give the possessions of Spain, England, and 
France, in North America previous to the Seven Years' War. 

Section 89. Tell something of the extent and population of India. 
How did England get its first foothold in India? Where were the 
French settlements? What was the result of the French and Indian 
War in America? in India? Enumerate England's colonial posses- 
sions at the end of the war. 

Section 90. Describe England's navigation and trade laws. Give 
the chief events leading to the revolt of England's colonies in America. 
Why did France favor the colonies ? Summarize the chief results of 
the European wars from the Treaty of Utrecht to the close of the 
American Revolution. 



CHAPTER XXI 

GENERAL CONDITIONS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

Life in the Country — Serfdom 

91. If a peasant who had lived on a manor in the time of the 
Crusades had been permitted to return to earth and travel about 
Europe at the opening of the eighteenth century, he would have 
found much to remind him of the conditions under which, seven 
centuries earlier, he had extracted a scanty living from the soil. 
It is true that the gradual extinction of serfdom in western 
Europe appears to have begun as early as the twelfth century, 
but it proceeded at very different rates in different countries. 
In France the old type of serf had largely disappeared by the 
fourteenth century, and in England a hundred years later. In 
Prussia, Austria, Poland, Russia, Italy, and Spain, on the con- 
trary, the great mass of the country people were still bound to 
the soil in the eighteenth century. 
Survivals of Even in France there were still many annoying traces of the 

tem in France old system. The peasant was, it is true, no longer bound to a par- 
eenth centu" ticular manor ; he could buy or sell his land at will, could marry 
without consulting the lord, and could go and come as he pleased. 
Many bought their land outright, while others disposed of their 
holdings and settled in town. But the lord might still require all 
those on his manor to grind their grain at his mill, bake their 
bread in his oven, and press their grapes in his wine press. The 
peasant might have to pay a toll to cross a bridge or ferry which 
was under the lord's control, or a certain sum for driving his 
flock past the lord's mansion. Many of the old arrangements 
still forced the peasant occupying a particular plot of land to 

442 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth Centttry 443 

turn over to the lord a certain portion of his crops, and, if he sold 
his land, to pay the lord a part of the money he received for it. 

In England in the eighteenth century the prominent features Practical dis- 
of serfdom had disappeared much more completely than in of^erfdom 
France. The services in labor due to the lord had long been in En s land 
commuted into money payments, and the peasant was thus 
transformed into a renter or owner of his holding. 




^>-:,,: a.J .. -■.'■■ ■■ 



Fig. 121. The Oven of the Manor 

The oven at which those on the manor had to bake their bread was some- 
times a large stone structure in the open air. The one in the picture 
has fallen into ruins since now the country people bake at home and so 
avoid paying the owner of the oven a part of the flour or bread for its use 

In central, southern, and eastern Europe the medieval system Condition of 
still prevailed ; the peasant lived and died upon the same manor, a grea t part 
and worked for his lord in the same way that his ancestors had ^g^^t- 6 ™ 
worked a thousand years before. Everywhere the same crude eenth century 
agricultural instruments were still used, and most of the im- 
plements and tools were roughly made in the village itself. The 
wooden plows commonly found even on English • farms were 



444 



Medieval and Modem Tunes 



Wretched 
houses of the 
peasants 



constructed on the model of the old Roman plow ; wheat was 
cut with a sickle, grass with an unwieldy scythe, and the rickety 
cart wheels were supplied with only wooden rims. 

The houses occupied by the country people differed greatly 
from Sicily to Pomerania, and from Ireland to Poland ; but, in 
general, they were small, with little light or ventilation, and often 



'■''■••"■ | ;"' -- 



|f"'FM,! 




Fig. 122. Interior of Peasant's Hut 

The house consists of one room. Milk jugs, kettles, and pails stand 

around the fireplace, where the cooking is done. In the corner stands 

the bed, curtained off from the room to secure privacy. Notice the 

heavy beam supporting the ceiling 



they were nothing but wretched hovels with dirt floors and 
neglected thatch roofs. The pigs and the cows were frequently 
as well housed as the people, with whom they associated upon 
very familiar terms, since the barn and the house were commonly 
in the same building. The drinking water was bad, and there 
was no attempt to secure proper drainage. Fortunately every 
one was out of doors a great deal of the time, for the women 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 445 

as well as the men usually worked in the fields, cultivating the 
soil and helping to gather in the crops. 

Country life in the eighteenth century was obviously very Unattractive 
arduous and unattractive for the most part. The peasant had couSry life 
no newspapers to tell him of the world outside his manor, nor 
could he have read them if he had had them. Even in England 
not one peasant in five thousand, it is said, could read at all ; and 
in France the local tax collectors were too uneducated to make 
out their own reports. Farther east conditions must have been 
still more cheerless, for a Hungarian peasant complains that he 
owed four days of his labor to his lord, spent the fifth and sixth 
hunting and fishing for him, while the seventh belonged to God. 



The Towns and the Guilds 

92. Even in the towns there was much to remind one of the Towns still 
Middle Ages. The narrow, crooked streets, darkened by the over- ]£J eight-" 1 
hanging buildings and scarcely lighted at all by night, the rough eenth centuI T 
cobblestones, the disgusting odors even in the best quarters — 
all offered a marked contrast to the European cities of to-day, 
which have grown tremendously in the last hundred years in 
size, beauty, and comfort. 

In 1760 London had half a million inhabitants, or about London 
a tenth of its present population. There were of course no 
street cars or omnibuses, to say nothing of the thousands of 
automobiles which now thread their way in and out through 
the press of traffic. A few hundred hackney coaches and 
sedan chairs served to carry those who had not private convey- 
ances and could not, or would not, walk. The ill-lighted streets 
were guarded at night by watchmen who went about with 
lanterns, but afforded so little protection against the roughs 
and robbers that gentlemen were compelled to carry arms 
when passing through the streets after nightfall 

Paris was somewhat larger than London and had outgrown p a ris 
its medieval walls. The police were more efficient there, and 



446 



Medieval and Modem Times 



German 
towns 



Italian cities 



Trade and 
industry 
conducted on 
a small scale 



the highway robberies which disgraced London and its suburbs 
were almost unknown. The great park, the " Elysian fields," 
and many of the boulevards which now form so distinguished 
a feature of Paris were already laid out; but, in general, the 
streets were still narrow, and there were none of the fine broad 
avenues which now radiate from a hundred centers. There 
were few sewers to carry off the water which, when it rained, 
flowed through the middle of the streets. The filth and the 
bad smells of former times still remained, and the people re- 
lied upon easily polluted wells or the dirty River Seine for 
their water supply. 

In Germany very few of the towns had spread beyond their 
medieval walls. They had, for the most part, lost their former 
prosperity, which was still attested by the fine old houses of the 
merchants and of the once flourishing guilds. Berlin had a pop- 
ulation of about two hundred thousand, and Vienna was slightly 
larger. The latter city, now one of the most beautiful in the 
world, then employed from thirty to a hundred street cleaners 
and boasted that the street lamps were lighted every night, 
while many towns contented themselves with dirty streets and 
with light during the winter months, and then only when the 
moon was not scheduled to shine. 

Even the famous cities of Italy, — Milan, Genoa, Florence, 
Rome, — notwithstanding their beautiful palaces and public 
buildings, were, with the exception of water-bound Venice, 
crowded into the narrow compass of the town wall, and their 
streets were narrow and crooked. 

Another contrast between the towns of the eighteenth century 
and those of to-day lay in the absence of the great wholesale 
warehouses, the vast factories with their tall chimneys, and the 
attractive department stores which may now be found in every 
city from Dublin to Budapest. Commerce and industry were in 
general conducted upon a very small scale, except at the great 
ports like London, Antwerp, or Amsterdam, where goods coming 
from and going to the colonies were brought together. 




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The growth of industry under the influence of the various 
machines which were being invented during the latter part of 
the eighteenth century will form the subject of a later chapter. 
It is clear, however, that before the introduction of railroads, 
steamships, and machine-equipped factories, all business opera- 
tions must have been carried on in what would seem to us 

a slow and primitive 
fashion. 

A great part of the 
manufacturing still took 
place in little shops 
where the articles when 
completed were offered 
for sale. Generally all 
those who owned the 
several shops carrying 
on a particular trade, 
such as tailoring, shoe- 
making, baking, tan- 
ning, bookbinding, hair 
cutting, or the mak- 
ing of candles, knives, 
hats, artificial flowers, 
swords, or wigs, were 
organized into a guild 
— a union — the main 
object of which was to prevent all other citizens from making 
or selling the articles in which the members of the guild dealt. 
The number of master workmen who might open a shop of 
their own was often limited by the guild, as well as the num- 
ber of apprentices each master could train. The period of 
apprenticeship was long, sometimes seven or even nine years, 
on the ground that it took years to learn the trade properly, 
but really because the guild wished to maintain its monopoly 
by keeping down the number who could become masters. 




Fig. 124. Public Letter Writer 

Since most common people could not read 
or write, they had to employ letter writers, 
who often had stalls like this along the street 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 449 

When the apprenticeship was over, the workman became a 
" journeyman " and might never perhaps become a master 
workman and open a shop of his own. 

Everywhere a workman had to stick to his trade ; if a cob- Strife among 
bier should venture to make a pair of new boots, or a baker 
should roast a piece of meat in his oven, he might be expelled 
from the guild unless he made amends. In Paris a hatter, who 
had greatly increased his trade by making hats of wool mixed 
with silk, had his stock destroyed by the guild authorities on 
the ground that the rules permitted hats to be made only of 
wool and said nothing of silk. 

The guilds differed from the modern trade unions in several im- Three 
portant respects. In the first place, only the master workmen, differences 
who owned the shops, tools, or machines, belonged to them. The j^^ 6 ^* 6 
apprentices and journeymen, that is, the ordinary workmen, were the modem 
excluded and had no influence whatever upon the policy of the 
organization. In the second place, the government enforced the 
decisions of the guilds. Lastly, the guilds were confined to the old- 
established industries which were still carried on, as they had been 
during the Middle Ages, on a small scale in the master's house. 

In spite, however, of the seeming strength of the guilds, they Decline of 
were really giving way before the entirely new conditions which 
had arisen. Thoughtful persons disapproved of them on the 
ground that they hampered industry and prevented progress 
by their outworn restrictions. In many towns the regulations 
were evaded or had broken down altogether, so that enter- 
prising workmen and dealers carried on their business as they 
pleased. Then, as we have said, it was only the old industries 
that were included in the guild system. 



The Nobility and the Monarchy 

93. Not only had the medieval manor and the medieval 
guilds maintained themselves down into the eighteenth century, 
but the successors of the feudal lords continued to exist as a 



45o 



Medieval and Modern Times 




Fig. 125. A Noble Family of the Old Regime 

Extravagance in drejss, of which the men were as guilty as the women, 
was largely due to the influence of court life, where so many nobles 
were rivaling each other in display. This brought hardship to the 
people on their estates in the country, since they had to support their 
masters' expenses 

conspicuous and powerful class. They enjoyed various privi- 
leges and distinctions denied to the ordinary citizen, although 
they were, of course, shorn of the great power that the more 
important dukes and counts had enjoyed in the Middle Ages, 
when they ruled over vast tracts, could summon their vassals 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 4^1 

to assist them in their constant wars with their neighbors, and 
dared defy even the authority of the king himself. 

The English, French, and Spanish kings had gradually sub- The former 
jugated the turbulent barons and brought the great fiefs directly ^ th^feudaf 
under royal control. The monarchs met with such success that ? obl h ss lost 
in the eighteenth century the nobles no longer held aloof but eighteenth 
eagerly sought the king's court. Those whose predecessors had 
once been veritable sovereigns within their own domains, had 
declared war even against the king, coined money, made laws 
for their subjects, and meted out justice in their castle halls, 
had, by the eighteenth century, deserted their war horses and 
laid aside their long swords ; in their velvet coats and high- 
heeled shoes they were contented with the privilege of helping 
the king to dress in the morning and attending him at dinner. 
The battlemented castle, once the stronghold of independent 
chieftains, was transformed into a tasteful country residence 
where, if the king honored the owner with a visit, the host was 
no longer tempted, as his ancestors had been, to shower arrows 
and stones upon the royal intruder. 

The French noble, unlike the English, was not fond of the The French 
country but lived with the court at Versailles whenever he no lly 
could afford to do so, and often when he could not. He liked 
the excitement of the court, and it was there that he could 
best advance his own and his friends' interests by obtaining 
lucrative offices in the army or Church or in the king's palace. 
By their prolonged absence from their estates the nobles lost the 
esteem of their tenants, while their stewards roused the hatred of 
the peasants by strictly collecting all the ancient manorial dues 
in order that the lord might enjoy the gayeties at Versailles. 

The unpopularity of the French nobility was further increased The French 
by their exemptions from some of the heavy taxes, on the privileged 
ground that they were still supposed to shed their blood in class 
fighting for their king instead of paying him money like the 
unsoldierly burghers and peasants. They enjoyed, moreover, 
the preference when the king had desirable positions to grant. 



452 Medieval and Modern Times 

They also claimed a certain social superiority, since they were 
excluded by their traditions of birth from engaging in any 
ordinary trade or industry, although they might enter some 
professions, such as medicine, law, the Church, or the army, 
or even participate in maritime trade without derogating from 
their rank. In short, the French nobility, including some one 
hundred and thirty thousand or one hundred and forty thou- 
sand persons, constituted a privileged class, although they no 
longer performed any of the high functions which had been 
exercised by their predecessors. 
The ennobled To make matters worse, very few of the nobles really be- 
longed to old feudal families. For the most part they had been 
ennobled by the king for some supposed service, or had bought 
an office, or a judgeship in the higher courts, to which noble 
rank was attached. Naturally this circumstance served to rob 
them of much of the respect that their hereditary dignity and 
titles might otherwise have gained for them. 
Peculiar In England the feudal castles had disappeared earlier even 

theEngiish tnan m F rance > an d the English law did not grant to any one, 
peerage however long and distinguished his lineage, special rights or 

privileges not enjoyed by every freeman. Nevertheless there 
was a distinct noble class in England. 1 The monarch had for- 
merly been accustomed to summon his earls and some of his 
barons to take council with him, and in this way the peerage 
developed; this included those whose title permitted them to 
sit in the House of Lords and to transmit this honorable pre- 
rogative to their eldest sons. But the peers paid the same taxes 
as every other subject and were punished in the same manner 
if they were convicted of an offense. Moreover only the eldest 
surviving son of a noble father inherited his rank, while on the 
Continent all the children became nobles. In this way the 
number of the English nobility was greatly restricted, and their 
social distinction roused little antagonism. 

1 For Voltaire's account of the English nobility, see Readings in Modem 
European History, Vol. I, p. 146. 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 453 

In Germany, however, the nobles continued to occupy very The German 
much the same position which their ancestors held in the Wimbled 11 
Middle Ages. There had been no king to do for Germany medieval 
what the French kings had done for France ; no mighty man 
had risen strong enough to batter down castle walls and bend 
all barons, great and small, to his will. The result was that 
there were in Germany in the eighteenth century hundreds of 
nobles dwelling in strong old castles and ruling with a high 
hand domains which were sometimes no larger than a big 
American farm. They levied taxes, held courts, coined money, 
and maintained standing armies of perhaps only a handful 
of soldiers. 

In all the countries of Europe the chief noble was of course The chief 
the monarch himself, to whose favor almost all the lesser nobles £i ng 
owed their titles and rank. He was, except in a few cases, 
always despotic, permitting the people no share in the man- 
agement of the government and often rendering them miser- His arbitrary 
able by needless wars and ill-advised and oppressive taxes. He powers 
commonly maintained a very expensive court and gave away 
to unworthy courtiers much of the money which he had wrung 
from his people. He was permitted to imprison his subjects 
upon the slightest grounds and in the most unjust manner ; 
nevertheless he usually enjoyed their loyalty and respect, since 
they were generally ready to attribute his bad acts to evil 
councilors. 

On the whole, the king merited the respect paid him. He The services 
it was who had destroyed the power of innumerable lesser everTdespotic 
despots and created something like a nation. He had put a kin & s 
stop to the private warfare and feudal brigandage which had 
disgraced the Middle Ages. His officers maintained order 
throughout the country so that merchants and travelers could 
go to and fro with little danger. He opened highroads for them 
and established a general system of coinage, which greatly facil- 
itated business operations. He interested himself more and 
more in commerce and industry and often encouraged learning. 



454 Medieval and Modern Times 

Finally, by consolidating his realms and establishing a regular 
system of government, he prepared the way for the European 
State of to-day in which the people are either given more 
or less control over lawmaking and the disposition of the 
public revenue, or, as in the case of France, the monarch has 
been discarded altogether as no longer needful. Democracy and 
political equality would, in fact, have been impossible if mon- 
archs had not leveled the proud and mighty nobles who aspired 
to be petty kings in their domains. 

The Catholic Church 

importance 94. The eighteenth century had inherited from the Middle 

val church ^ Ages the nobility with their peculiar privileges. At the same 
modern"^ ^ me ' t ^ ie c ^ er gY' especially in Catholic countries, still possessed 
lems privileges which set them off from the nation at large. They 

were far more powerful and better organized than the nobility 
and exercised a great influence in the State. 

The Catholic Church did not rely for its entire support upon 
the voluntary contributions of its members, but still enjoyed the 
revenue from vast domains which kings, nobles, and other land- 
holders had from time to time (especially during the Middle- 
Ages) given to the churches and monasteries. In addition to 
the income from its lands, the Church had the right, like the 
State, to impose a regular tax which was called the tithe. All 
who were subject to this were forced to pay it, whether they 
cared anything about religion or not, just as we are all com- 
pelled to pay taxes imposed by the government under which 
we live. 1 
Great powers In spite of the changes which had overtaken the Church 
by the Cath- since the Middle Ages, it still retained its ancient external ap- 
inthe^eht- P earance m tne eighteenth century — its gorgeous ceremonial, 
eenth century its wealth, its influence over the lives of men, its intolerance of 
those who ventured to differ from the conceptions of Christianity 

1 See above, Chapter X, for a description of the Church in the Middle Ages. 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth CentiLry 455 

which it held. The Church could fine and imprison those whom 
it convicted of blasphemy, contempt of religion, or heresy. The 
clergy managed the schools in which, of course, the children were 
brought up in the orthodox faith. Hospitals and other charitable 
institutions were under their control. They registered all births 
and deaths, and only the marriages which they sanctified were 
regarded by the State as legal. The monasteries still existed in 
great numbers and owned vast tracts of land. A map of Paris 
made in 1789 shows no less than sixty-eight monasteries and 
seventy-three nunneries within the walls. 

Both the Catholic and the Protestant churches were still in- intolerance 
tolerant, and in this were usually supported by the government, i ics anc i 
which was ready to punish or persecute those who refused to Protestants 
conform to the State religion, whatever it might be, or ventured 
to speak or write against its doctrines. There was none of that 
freedom which is so general now, and which permits a man to 
worship or not as he pleases, and even to criticize religion in 
any or "all its forms without danger of imprisonment, loss of 
citizenship, or death. 

In France, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in Position of 
1685, Protestants had lost all civil rights. According to a tants in 
decree of 1724, those who assembled for any form of worship France 
other than the Roman Catholic were condemned to lose their 
property; the men were to be sent to the galleys and the 
women imprisoned for life. 

Books and pamphlets were carefully examined in order to see Censorship 
whether they contained any attacks upon the orthodox Catholic 
beliefs or might in any way serve to undermine the authority 
of the Church or of the king. The king of France, as late as 
1757, issued a declaration establishing the death penalty for 
those who wrote, printed, or distributed any work which 
appeared to be an attack upon religion. A considerable num- 
ber of the books issued in France in the eighteenth century, 
which ventured to criticize the government or the Church, 
were condemned' by either the clergy or the king's courts, and 



456 Medieval and Modern Times 

were burned by the common hangman or suppressed. Not 
infrequently the authors, if they could be discovered, were 
imprisoned. 
Censorship Nevertheless, books attacking the old ideas and suggesting 

reforms in Church and State constantly appeared and were 
freely circulated. 1 The writers took care not to place their 
names or those of the publishers upon the title-pages, and 
many such books were printed at Geneva or in Holland, 
where great freedom prevailed, 
strength of In Spain, Austria, and Italy, however, and especially in the 

Spain, Aus- Papal States, the clergy, particularly the Jesuits, were more 
tna, and Italy powerful and enjoyed more privileges than in France. In 
Spain the censorship of the press and the Inquisition consti- 
tuted a double bulwark against change until the latter half of 
the eighteenth century. ■ 
Peculiar situ- In Germany the position of the Church varied greatly, 
great German The southern states were Catholic, while Prussia and the 
prelates northern rulers had embraced Protestantism. Many of the 

archbishops, bishops, and abbots ruled as princes over their 
own lands. 



The English Established Church and the 
Protestant Sects 

The Anglican 95- In England Henry VIII had thrown off his allegiance 
established to the Pope and declared himself the head of the English 
Eii d zabe^h een church - Under his daughter, Queen Elizabeth (i 558-1603), 
(1558-1603) Parliament had established the Church of England. It abol- 
ished the mass and sanctioned the Book of Common Prayer, 
which has since remained the official guide to the services in 
the Anglican Church. The beliefs of the Church were brought 
together in the Thirty-Nine Articles, from which no one was to 
vary or depart in the least degree. The system of government 
of the Roman Catholic Church, with its archbishops, bishops, 

1 See following chapter. 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 457 

and priests, was retained, but the general charge of religious 
matters and the appointment of bishops were put in the 
hands of the monarch or his ministers. All clergymen were 
required to subscribe solemnly to the Thirty-Nine Articles. All 
public religious services were to be conducted according to the 
Prayer Book, and those who failed to attend services on Sunday 
and holydays were to be fined. 

Those who loyally adhered to the Roman Catholic faith Persecution 
fared badly, although happily there were no such general H cs Sn Eng-°~ 
massacres as overwhelmed the Protestants in France. Some land 
of the English Catholics were accused of plotting against the 
Protestant queen, Elizabeth, who had been deposed by the 
pope. These alleged " traitors " were in some instances exe- 
cuted for treason. Indeed, any one who brought a papal bull 
to England, who embraced Catholicism, or converted a Protes- 
tant was declared a traitor. Fines and* imprisonment were 
inflicted upon those who dared to say or to hear mass. 1 

But there were, many Protestants who did not approve of the The Puritans 
Anglican Church as established by law. These " Dissenters " 
developed gradually into several sects with differing views. By 
far the most numerous of the Dissenters were the Baptists. 
They spread to America, and were the first Protestant sect to 
undertake foreign missions on a large scale, having founded a 
society for that purpose as early as 1792. 

Another English sect which was destined also to be conspicu- The Friends, 
ous in America was the Society of Friends, or Quakers, as they 
are commonly called. This group owes its origin to George Fox, 
who began his preaching in 1647. The Friends were distin- 
guished by their simplicity of life and dress, and their rejection 

1 It may be noted here that the Catholics found a refuge in America from their 
Protestant persecutors, as did the Huguenots who fled from the oppression of the 
Catholic government in France. The colony of Maryland was founded by Lord 
Baltimore in 1634 and named after the French wife of Charles I. In the nine- 
teenth century the number of Catholics in the United States was vastly increased 
by immigration from Ireland, Italy, and other countries, so that there are over 
thirteen millions to-day who have been baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. 



458 Medieval and Modern Times 

of all ceremonial and sacraments, including even the Lord's 
Supper. The chief stronghold of the Quakers in America has 
always been Pennsylvania, more particularly Philadelphia and 
its neighborhood, where they settled under the leadership of 
William Penn. 

The Quakers were the first religious sect to denounce war 
ever and always, and they should have the credit of beginning 
the movement against war which had gained much headway 
before the outbreak of the war in 1914. 




Fig. 126. John Wesley 

The last of the great Protestant sects to appear was that of 
the Methodists. Their founder, John Wesley (d. 1791), when 
at Oxford had established a religious society among his fellow 
students. Their piety and the regularity of their habits gained 
for them the nickname of " Methodists." 1 

Only gradually did the Methodists separate themselves from 
the Church of England, of which they at first considered 

1 For extracts from Wesley's famous Journal, see Readings in Modern 
European History, Vol. I, p. 168. 



General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 459 

themselves members. In 1784 the numerous American Metho- 
dists were formally organized into the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and early in the nineteenth century the English Metho- 
dists became an independent organization. At the time of 
Wesley's death his followers numbered over fifty thousand, and 
there are now in the United States over six millions, including 
the various branches of the Church. 

Parliament under Charles II showed itself very intolerant Persecution 
toward all Dissenters alike — Presbyterians, Independents, sen ters under 
Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians. Charles 1 1 

Upon the accession of William and Mary the Act of Toleration Legal 
was passed in 1 689, which permitted Dissenters to hold meetings ; m England 
but " Papists and such as deny the Trinity " (namely, Unitarians) 
were explicitly excluded, so England still continued to maintain 
an intolerant system in the eighteenth century. It had a State 
Church (which still exists) with a particular form of belief and 
of services established by the government in Elizabeth's time. 
Even if the Dissenters were permitted to hold services in their 
own way, they were excluded from government offices, nor could 
they obtain a degree at the universities. Only the members of The privi- 

lcsrcs of triG 

the Anglican Church could hold a Church benefice. Its bishops Anglican 
had seats in the House of Lords and its priests enjoyed a social cler sy 
preeminence denied to the dissenting ministers. 

. Roman Catholics were forbidden to enter England. The Existence of 
celebration of the mass was strictly prohibited. All public recognized in 
offices were closed to Catholics and of course they could not En S land 
sit in Parliament. Indeed, legally, they had no right whatever 
to be in England at all. 

Nevertheless, in spite of the old intolerant laws and the special Freedom of 
privileges of the Anglican Church, men were very free in the Q f tfU press 
eighteenth century in England to believe what they wished and m En s land 
say what they wished. One desiring to publish a book or pam- 
phlet did not have to obtain the permission of the government, 
as was required in France. The result was that there was a vast 
amount of discussion of religious, scientific, and political matters 



460 Medieval and Modern Times 

beyond anything that went on in any other European country. 
The books of the English reformers had a great influence upon 
the French, as will become apparent in the following section. 

England was celebrated throughout Europe for its parlia- 
mentary government. The English sovereign did not enjoy the 
despotic powers of the French, Prussian, or Russian monarch 
but was controlled by the House of Lords and the House of 
Commons. He left, the management of affairs largely in the 
hands of the cabi7iet, which was really a committee of the House 
of Commons. This important matter of England's government 
will be taken up later in Chapter XXXI. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 91 . What was the condition of a medieval serf (see above, 
section 20)? In what countries did serfdom still exist in the eight- 
eenth century ? Compare country life in the eighteenth century with 
what you know of it to-day. 

Section 92. What can you say of London and Paris in the eight- 
eenth century ? Contrast business of that day with that of our own 
time. How did the guilds originate? What was their condition in 
the eighteenth century? Contrast the guild with the modern trade 
union. 

Section 93. How did the European nobility originate? What 
was the difference in their position in the eighteenth century from 
that in the Middle Ages? What privileges did they enjoy in France? 
Describe the English peerage ; the German knights. What was the 
position of the king in continental countries ? What do we owe to 
the development of kingship ? 

Section 94. Describe the general powers and organization of the 
Medieval Church (see Chapter X). What was the position of the 
Church in Catholic countries in the eighteenth century ? What was 
the censorship of the press ? 

Section 95. How did the Church of England originate? What 
was its nature? Who were the Dissenters? How were they treated 
by the English government? Give the chief Protestant sects that 
originated in England. What were the peculiar beliefs of the 
Quakers? To what extent did England tolerate other beliefs than 
those of the State Church in the eighteenth century? 



CHAPTER XXII 
MODERN SCIENCE AND THE SPIRIT OF REFORM 

The Development of Modern Science 

96. A thoughtful observer in the eighteenth century would, The spirit of 
as we have seen, have discovered many medieval institutions 
which had persisted in spite of the considerable changes which 
had taken place in conditions and ideas during the previous 
five hundred years. Serfdom, the guilds, the feudal dues, the 
nobility and clergy with their peculiar privileges, the declining 
monastic orders, the confused and cruel laws — these were a 
part of the heritage which Europe had received from what was 
coming to be regarded as a dark and barbarous period. People 
began to be keenly alive to the deficiencies of the past, and 
to look to the future for better things, even to dream of prog- 
ress beyond the happiest times of which they had any record. 
They came to feel that the chief obstacles to progress were the 
outworn institutions, the ignorance and prejudices of their fore- 
fathers, and that if they could only be freed from this burden, 
they would find it easy to create new and enlightened laws 
and institutions to suit their needs. 

This attitude of mind seems natural enough in our progres- Veneration 
sive age, but two centuries ago it was distinctly new. Mankind ^he^o^cT : 
has in general shown an unreasoning respect and veneration old da y s " 
for the past. Until the opening of the eighteenth century the 
former times were commonly held to have been better than the 
present ; for the evils of the past were little known, while those 
of the present were, as always, only too apparent. Men looked 
backward rather than forward. They aspired to fight as well, 
or be as saintly, or write as good books, or paint as beautiful 

461 



462 



Medieval and Modern Times 



How the 

scientists 



pictures, as the great men of old. That they might excel the 
achievements of their predecessors did not occur to them. 
Knowledge was sought not by studying the world about them 
but in some ancient authority. In Aristotle's vast range of 
works on various branches of science, the Middle Ages felt 
that they had a mass of authentic information which it should 
be the main business of the universities to explain and impart 
rather than to increase or correct by new investigations. Men's 
ideals centered in the past, and improvement seemed to them* 
to consist in reviving, so far as possible, the "good old days." 
It was mainly to the patient men of science that the west- 
have created ern world owed its first hopes of future improvement. It is 
the spirit fa e y w jj j iave s h own that the ancient writers were mistaken 

of progress J 

and reform about many serious matters and that they had at best a very 
crude and imperfect notion of the world. They have gradually 
robbed men of their old blind respect for the past, and by their 
discoveries have pointed the way to indefinite advance, so that 
now we expect constant change and improvement and are 
scarcely astonished at the most marvelous inventions. 

In the Middle Ages the scholars and learned men had been 
but little interested in the world about them. They devoted 
far more attention to philosophy and theology than to what 
we should call the natural sciences. They were satisfied in the 
main to get their knowledge of nature from reading the works 
of the ancients — above all, those of Aristotle. 

We have seen how early in the seventeenth century men like 
Lord Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes advocated a new kind of 
science. They were tired of all the talk about things of which 
people knew very little and proposed that natural objects and 
changes should be examined with great care so as to discover 
exactly what happened in any given case. But the new scientists 
were not contented with the mere observation of what they saw 
around them, they began to perform experiments and so made 
things happen in ways that they could conveniently watch and 
study. Nowadays experimentation is, of course, constantly used 



The impor- 
tance of 
experiment 



Modern Science and the Spirit of Reform 463 



by scientific investigators who establish specially equipped labora- 
tories for the purpose. In this way they learn many things that 
the most careful observation of what takes place naturally in 
the world would not reveal. 

Lastly, in order to carry on experiments and make careful ob- The new 
servations and measurements, apparatus had to be devised, such the sdentists 
as microscopes, telescopes, 
thermometers, barometers, 
accurate clocks and bal- 
ances. The Greeks and 
Romans and the pro- 
fessors in the medieval 
universities had none of 
these things. They were 
all either invented or used 
for the first time on a 
large scale in the seven- 
teenth century. 

This new way of study- 
ing the world led to the 
most wonderful discover- 
ies, so that now we can do 
things that even magicians 
never claimed to do in the 
Middle Ages. Our modern 
machinery has changed the 
world more than all the 

battles that ever happened. Our locomotives and steamships The new era 
take us swiftly to all parts of the globe ; our telegraphs and 
telephones enable us to communicate with people at great dis- 
tances ; our cameras and phonographs can reproduce the faces 
and voices of the dead or absent. And these are but very few of 
the marvels of modern scientific invention, which were wholly 
unknown to people in the eighteenth century. 

1 The first successful experiments were made near Paris a few months earlier. 




Fig. 127. Balloon Ascension, 1783 

The crowds along paths of the garden 
of the Tuileries palace in Paris, on 
December 1, 1783, saw for the first time 
two men ascend 2000 feet in a balloon 1 



464 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The path of the scientific investigator has not always been 
without its thorns. Mankind has changed its notions with reluc- 
tance. The churchmen and the professors in the universities 
were wedded to the conceptions of the world which the medieval 
theologians and philosophers had worked out, mainly from the 
Bible and Aristotle. They clung to the textbooks which they 
and their predecessors had long used in teaching, and had no 
desire to work in laboratories or to keep up with the ideas of 
the scientists. 

Many theologians looked with grave suspicion on many of the 
scientific discoveries of the day, on the ground that they did not 
harmonize with the teachings of the Bible as commonly accepted. 
It was naturally a great shock to them, and also to the public 
at large, to have it suggested that man's dwelling place, instead 
of being God's greatest work, to which he had subordinated 
everything and around which the whole starry' firmament re- 
volved, was after all but a tiny speck in comparison with the 
whole universe, and its sun but one of an innumerable host of 
similar glowing bodies of stupendous size, each of which might 
have its particular family of planets revolving about it. 

The bolder thinkers were consequently sometimes made to 
suffer for their ideas, and their books prohibited or burned. 



How the Scientific Discoveries produced a 
Spirit of Reform : Voltaire 

97. Those who accepted the old views of the world and of 
religion, and opposed change, were quite justified in suspecting 
that scientific investigation would sooner or later make them 
trouble. It taught men to distrust, and even to scorn, the past 
which furnished so many instances of ignorance and supersti- 
tion. Instead of accepting the teachings of the theologians, 
both Catholic and Protestant, that mankind through Adam's 
fall was rendered utterly vile, and incapable (except through 
God's special grace) of good thoughts or deeds, certain thinkers 



Modem Science and the Spirit of Reform 465 

began to urge that man was by nature good ; that he should 
freely use his own God-given reason ; that he was capable of 
becoming increasingly wise by a study of nature's laws, and 
that he could indefinitely better his own condition and that of 
his fellows if he would but free himself from the shackles of 
error and tradition. 

In the year 1726 there landed in England a young and How Voltaire 
gifted Frenchman, who was to become the great prophet of S^ i°26 nS ~ 
this new view. Voltaire, who was then thirty-two years old, 
had already deserted the older religious beliefs and was con- 
sequently ready to follow enthusiastically the more radical of 
the English thinkers, who discussed matters with an openness 
which filled him with astonishment. He became an ardent 
admirer of the teachings of Newton, whose stately funeral he 
attended shortly after his arrival. He regarded the discoverer 
of universal gravitation as greater than an Alexander the Great 
or a Caesar, and did all he could to popularize Newton's work 
in France. "It is to him who masters our minds by the force of 
truth, not to those who enslave men by violence ; it is to him 
who understands the universe, not to those who disfigure it, that 
we owe our reverence." 

Voltaire was deeply impressed by the Quakers — their simple Voltaire 
life and their hatred of war. He admired the English liberty of the^English 
speech and writing ; he respected the general esteem for the freed ° m of 
merchant class. In France, he said, "the merchant so constantly 
hears his business spoken of with disdain that he is fool enough 
to blush for it ; yet I am not sure that the merchant who enriches 
his country, gives orders from his countinghouse at Surat or 
Cairo, and contributes to the happiness of the globe is not more 
useful to a state than the thickly bepowdered lord who knows 
exactly what time the king rises and what time he goes to bed, 
and gives himself mighty airs of greatness while he plays the 
part of a slave in the minister's anteroom." 

Voltaire proceeded to enlighten his countrymen by a volume 
of essays in which he sets forth his impressions of England; but 



466 



Medieval and Modern Times 



the high court of justice (the parlement) of Paris condemned 
these Letters on the English to be publicly burned, as scandalous 
and lacking in the respect due to the kings and governments. 
Voltaire was not discouraged and remained, during the rest of 
a long life, the chief advocate throughout Europe of reliance 
upon reason and of confidence in progress. He was interested 
in almost everything ; he wrote histories, dramas, philosophic 
treatises, romances, and innumerable letters to his innumerable 
admirers. The vast range of his writings enabled him to bring 
his views to the attention of all sorts and conditions of men 
— not only to the general reader but even to the careless 
playgoer. 1 

While Voltaire was successfully encouraging free criticism in 
general, he led a relentless attack upon the most venerable, 
probably the most powerful, institution in Europe, the Roman 
Catholic Church. The absolute power of the king did not trouble 
him, but the Church appeared to him to be opposed to a free 
exercise of reason and hostile to reform, and he declared that 
it interfered with human progress. The Church, as it fully 
realized, had never encountered a more deadly enemy. 

Were there space at command, a great many good things, as 
well as plenty of bad ones, might be told of this extraordinary 
man. He was often superficial in his judgments, and some- 
times jumped to unwarranted conclusions. He saw only evil in 
the Church and seemed incapable of understanding all that it 
had done for mankind during the bygone ages. He attributed 
to evil motives teachings which were accepted by honest and good 
men. He bitterly ridiculed cherished religious ideas, along with 
the censorship of the press and the quarrels of the theologians. 

He could, and did, however, fight against wrong and 
oppression. The abuses which he attacked were in large part 
abolished by the French Revolution. It is unfair to notice only 
Voltaire's mistakes and exaggerations, as many writers, both 

1 For extracts from Voltaire's writings, see Readings in Modern European 
History, Vol. I, pp. 179 ff. 




Fig. 128. Leaders of the Revolution in Thought 
467 



468 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Diderot's 
Encyclopaedia 



The Encyclo- 
pedia rouses 
the hostility 
of the theolo- 
gians 



Catholic and Protestant, have done ; for he certainly did much 
to prepare the way for great and permanent reforms which 
every one would now approve. 1 

Voltaire had many admirers and powerful allies. Among 
these none were more important than Denis Diderot and 
the scholars whom Diderot induced to cooperate with him 
in preparing articles for a new Encydopcedia, which was de- 
signed to spread among a wide range of intelligent readers a 
knowledge of scientific advance and rouse enthusiasm for 
reform and progress. An encyclopaedia was by no means a 
new thing. Diderot's plan had been suggested by a proposal 
to publish a French translation of Chambers's Cydopcedia. Be- 
fore his first volume appeared, a vast Universal Dictio?iary' 1 
had been completed in Germany in sixty-four volumes. But 
few people outside of that country could read German in 
those days, whereas the well-written and popular articles of 
Diderot and his helpers, ranging from " abacus," " abbey," 
and " abdication " to " Zoroaster," " Zurich," and " zymology," 
were in a language that many people all over Europe could 
understand. 

Diderot and his fellow editors endeavored to rouse as little 
opposition as possible. They respected current prejudices and 
gave space to ideas and opinions with which they were not per- 
sonally in sympathy. They furnished material, however, for 
refuting what they believed to be mistaken notions, and Diderot 
declared that " time will enable people to distinguish what 
we have thought from what we have said." But no sooner 
did the first two volumes appear in 1752 than the king's min- 
isters, to please the officials of the Church, suppressed them, 

1 Voltaire repudiated the beliefs of the Protestant churches as well as of the 
Catholic Church. He was, however, no atheist, as his enemies — and they have 
been many and bitter — have so often asserted. He believed in God, and at his 
country home, near Geneva, he dedicated a temple to him. Like many of his con- 
temporaries, he was a deist, and held that God had revealed himself in nature 
and in our own hearts, not in Bible or Church. 

2 See Readings in Modem European History, Vol. I, p. 185, for an extract from 
Diderot's preface to the last installment of the Encydopcedia. 



Modern Science and the Spirit of Reform 469 

as containing principles hostile to royal authority and religion, 
although they did not forbid the continuation of the work. 

As volume after volume appeared, the subscribers increased ; Diderot 
but so did the opposition. The Encyclopaedists were declared CO mpiete^the 
to be a band bent upon the destruction of religion and the Enc y clo P<^^ a 
undermining of society ; the government again interfered, 
withdrew the license to publish the work, and prohibited the sale 
of the seven volumes that were already out. Nevertheless seven 
years later Diderot was able to deliver the remaining ten volumes 
to the subscribers in spite of the government's prohibition. 

The Encyclopedia attacked temperately, but effectively, Value of the 
religious intolerance, the bad taxes, the slave trade, and the nc y co P <Bl 
atrocities of the criminal law ; it encouraged men to turn their 
minds to natural science with all its possibilities. The article 
" Legislator," written by Diderot, say§ : " All the men of all 
lands have become necessary to one another for the exchange 
of the fruits of industry and the products of the soil. Commerce 
is a new bond among men. In these days every nation has an 
interest in the preservation by every other nation of its wealth, 
its industry, its banks, its luxury, its agriculture. The ruin of 
Leipzig, of Lisbon, of Lima, has led to bankruptcies on all the 
exchanges of Europe and has affected the fortunes of many 
millions of persons." The English statesman, John Morley, 
has given us an enthusiastic account of Diderot and his com- 
panions, declaring that " it was this band of writers, organized 
by a harassed man of letters, and not the nobles swarming 
around Louis XV, nor the churchmen singing masses, who 
first grasped the great principle of modern society, the 
honour that is owed to productive industry. They were vehe- 
ment for the glories of peace and passionate against the brazen 
glories of war." 

Next to Voltaire, the writer who did most to cultivate dis- 
content with existing conditions was Jean Jacques Rousseau 1 

1 Extracts from his writings are to be found in the Readings in Modern 
European History, Vol. I, pp. 187 ff. 



Rousseau 
attacks civili- 
zation 



470 



Medieval and Modem Times 



(17 1 2-1 7 78). Unlike Voltaire and Diderot, Rousseau believed 
that people thought too much, not too little ; that we should 
trust to our hearts rather than to our heads, and may safely 
rely upon our natural feelings and sentiments to guide us. He 
declared that Europe was overcivilized, and summoned men 
to return to nature and simplicity. His first work was a prize 




*■ ■ 



Fig. 129. Jeax Jacques Rousseau 



The Social 
Contract 



essay written in 1750, in which he sought to prove that the de- 
velopment of the arts and sciences had demoralized mankind, 
inasmuch as they had produced luxury, insincerity, and arro- 
gance. He extolled the rude vigor of Sparta and denounced 
the refined and degenerate life of the Athenians. 

Rousseau's plea for the simple life went to the heart of many 
a person who was weary of artificiality. Others were attracted 
by his firm belief in the natural equality of mankind and the 
right of every man to have a voice in the government. In his 



Modem Science and the Spirit of Reform 471 

celebrated little treatise, The Social Contract, he takes up the 
question, By what right does one man rule over others ? The 
book opens with the words : " Man is born free and yet is now 
everywhere in chains. One man believes himself the master 
of others and yet is after all more of a slave than they. How 
did this change come about ? I do not know. What can render 
it legitimate ? I believe that I can answer that question." It is, 
Rousseau declares, the will of the people that renders govern- 
ment legitimate. The real sovereign is the people. Although Popular 
they may appoint a single person, such as a king, to manage s ,verei S nt y 
the government for them, they should make the laws, since it 
is they who must obey them. We shall find that the first French 
constitution accepted Rousseau's doctrine and defined law as 
"the expression of the general will" — not the will of a king 
reigning by the grace of God. 

About the middle of the eighteenth century a new social The science 
science was born, namely, political economy. Scholars began economyV- 
to investigate the sources of a nation's wealth, the manner in veiops in the 

eighteenth 

which commodities were produced and distributed, the laws de- century 
termining demand and supply, the function of money and credit, 
and their influence upon industry and commerce. Previous to 
the eighteenth century these matters had seemed to most 
people unworthy of scientific discussion. 

The first great systematic work upon political economy was Adam Smith's 
published by a Scotch philosopher, Adam Smith, in 1776. His 
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (*77 6 ) 
became the basis of all further progress in the science. 

While the economists in France and England by no means The econo- 
agreed in details, they brought the light of reason to bear, for 
example, upon the various bungling and iniquitous old methods 
of taxation then in vogue, and many of them advocated a single 
tax which should fall directly upon the landowner. They wrote 
treatises on practical questions, scattered pamphlets broadcast, 
and even conducted a. magazine or two in the hope of bringing 
home to the people at large the existing economic evils* 



Wealth of 

Nations 



mists attack 

existing 

abuses 



472 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The eight- 
eenth cen- 
tury a period 
of rapidly 
increasing en- 
lightenment 



It is clear from what has been said that the eighteenth cen- 
tury was a period of unexampled advance in general enlighten- 
ment. New knowledge spread abroad by the Encyclopaedists, 
the economists, and writers on government led people to see the 
vices of the existing system and gave them at the same time 
new hope of bettering themselves by abandoning the mistaken 
beliefs and imperfect methods of their predecessors. The spirit 
of reform penetrated even into kings' palaces, and we must 
now turn to the events which led up to the French Revolution. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 96. Contrast our modern spirit of reform with the older 
point of view. Why do men so frequently venerate the past ? What 
kind of scientific research did Lord Bacon and Descartes advocate? 
Mention some things that can be seen with the microscope that can- 
not be learned with the naked eye. Give some of the facts that the 
telescope reveals. What is the purpose of a thermometer? of a ba- 
rometer ? What do you understand by experimental science ? What 
kinds of scientific apparatus are you familiar with? What is a law 
of nature ? Give illustrations. W T hy did some theologians oppose 
scientific teaching? 

Section 97. What effects had scientific discoveries on older be- 
liefs ? Who was Voltaire ? Why did he admire the English, and the 
Quakers in particular? Why did he attack the Church so bitterly? 
What were some of the weaknesses of Voltaire ? What was the pur- 
pose and character of Diderot's Encydopcedia'? Why did certain 
powerful classes oppose its publication? What were some of the 
ideas which Diderot defended ? What were the views of Rousseau ? 
What do you understand by political economy? 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE EVE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

The Old Regime in France 

98. It was France that first carried out the great reforms How the 
that did away with most of the old institutions and confusion ^compHshed 
that had come down from the Middle Ages. It is true that refoims which 

had foiled 

some of the monarchs of the time ("benevolent despots," as thebenevo- 
they are called), especially Frederick the Great, and Cather- 
ine II of Russia, and the Emperor Joseph II, introduced some 
reforms, largely in their own interests, but even in England little 
was done in the eighteenth century to remedy the great abuses 
of which the reformers complained. But in 1789 the king of 
France asked his people to submit their grievances to him and 
to send representatives to Versailles to confer with him upon 
the state of the realm and the ways in which the government 
might be improved so as to increase the general happiness and 
the prosperity of the kingdom. And then the miracle happened ! 
The French National Assembly swept away the old abuses with 
an ease and thoroughness which put the petty reforms of the 
benevolent despots to shame. It accomplished more in a few 
months than the reforming kings had done in a century ; for 
the kings had never dreamed of calling in their people to aid 
them. Instead of availing themselves of the great forces of the 
nation, they had tried to do everything alone by royal decrees, 
and so had failed. 

The unique greatness of the reformation accomplished by the 
French Assembly is, however, often obscured by the disorder 
which accompanied it. When one meets the words " French 
Revolution," he is pretty sure to call up before his mind's eye 

473 



474 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The real 

French Revo- 
lution not to 
be confused 
with the 
Reign of 
Terror 



Meaning of 
the term 
" the old 
regime " 



the guillotine and its hundreds of victims, and the Paris mob 
shouting the hymn of the Marseillais as they paraded the 
streets with the heads of unfortunate " aristocrats " on their 
pikes. Every one has heard of this terrible episode in French 
history even if he knows practically nothing of the permanent 
good which was accomplished at the time. Indeed, it has made 
so deep an impression on posterity that the Reign of Terror is 
often mistaken for the real Revolution. It was, however, only 
a sequel to it, an unhappy accident which will seem less and 
less important as the years go on, while the achievements of 
the Revolution itself will loom larger and larger. The Reign 
of Terror will be explained and described in good time, but it 
is a matter of far greater importance to understand clearly how 
the fundamental and permanent reforms were wrought out, and 
how France won the proud distinction of being the first nation 
to do away with the absurd and vexatious institutions which 
weighed upon Europe in the eighteenth century. 

We have already examined these institutions which were 
common to most of the European countries, — despotic kings, 
arbitrary imprisonment, unfair taxation, censorship of the press, 
serfdom, feudal dues, friction between Church and State, — all 
of which the reformers had been busy denouncing as contrary 
to reason and humanity, and some of which the benevolent 
despots and their ministers had, in a half-hearted way, at- 
tempted to remedy. The various relics of bygone times and 
of outlived conditions which the Revolution abolished forever 
are commonly called in France the old regime. 1 In order to see 
why France took the lead of other European countries in 
modernizing itself, it is necessary to examine somewhat care- 
fully the particular causes of discontent there. We shall then 
see how almost every one, from the king to the peasant, came 
to realize that the old system was bad and consequently re- 
solved to do away with it and substitute a more rational plan 
of government for the long-standing disorder. 

1 From the French ancien regime, the old or former system. 



The Eve of the French Revolution 



475 



Of the evils which the Revolution abolished, none was more France not a 
important than the confusion in France due to the fact that it Sd stated 
was not in the eighteenth century a well-organized, homogene- 
ous state whose citizens all enjoyed the same rights and privi- 
leges. A long line of kings had patched it together, adding bit 



in 

the eight- 
eenth century 




The Provinces of France in the Eighteenth Century, 
showing Interior Customs Lines 



by bit as they could. By conquest and bargain, by marrying 
heiresses, and through the extinction of the feudal dynasties, 
the original restricted domains of Hugh Capet about Paris 
and Orleans had been gradually increased by his descendants. 
We have seen how Louis XIV gained Alsace and Strassburg 
and some towns on the borders of the Spanish Netherlands. 



476 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The old 
provinces 
of France 



Louis XV added Lorraine in 1766. Two years later the island 
of Corsica was ceded to France by Genoa. So when Louis 
XVI came to the throne in 1774 he found himself ruler of 
practically the whole territory which makes up France to-day. 
But these different parts had different institutions. 

Some of the districts which the kings of France brought under 
their sway, like Languedoc, Provence, Brittany, and Dauphiny, 
were considerable states in themselves, each with its own laws, cus- 
toms, and system of 
government. When 
these provinces had 
come, at different 
times, into the pos- 
session of the king 
of France, he had 
not changed their 
laws so as to make 
them correspond 
with those of his 
other domains. He 
was satisfied if a 
new province paid 
its due share of the 
taxes and treated 
his officials with re- 
spect. In some cases 
the provinces re- 
tained their local assemblies, and controlled, to a certain extent, 
their own affairs. The provinces into which France was divided 
before the Revolution were not, therefore, merely artificial divi- 
sions created for the purposes of convenience, like the modern 
French departments} but represented real historical differences. 
While in a considerable portion of southern France the 
Roman law still prevailed, in the central parts and in the west 

1 See below, p. 500. 





'■'* 1/ 








-<f%* ■ 


■ jV..v{> 






^^^36 : — k 




1 


7 **v>r^fi« 


„r f ' _>7 « i-l 


^s* 


2 to 3 ^ 


>** '">,,;', 


_ik 6^ 36 / 


h 


,, |||§ 






f 




\ 2 


X^N 




> 


J^ 









Vs. 




Wr 


•»•• j/ »— t 


^ * 


isfe 


Yd 


toll/ .1 


I ^ 




iDordoyne 3» 
*^ 28 5/ 


30 to 32"Y^ 
9 \ 






8*A 30 


^?i?Lg- *«• a W^" 


SPA 


^3 
• N 3 to 
I N ~ v 


— 'X..15 to 201 


MED1TERRA KEA N 
SEA 



The Salt Tax 

Showing the different amounts paid in the vari- 
ous parts of France in the eighteenth century 
for a given amount of salt 



The Eve of the French Revolution 477 

and north there were no less than two hundred and eighty-five Various sys- 
different local codes of law in force ; so that one who moved tems ° 
from his own to a neighboring town might find a wholly un- 
familiar legal system. 

One of the heaviest taxes was that on salt. This varied 
greatly, so greatly in different parts of France that the govern- 
ment had to go to great expense to guard the boundary lines 
between the various districts, for there was every inducement 
to smugglers to carry salt from those parts of the country 
where it was cheap into the regions where it sold for a high 
price on account of the tax. 

Besides these unfortunate local differences, there were class The privi- 
differences which caused great discontent. All Frenchmen did 
not enjoy the same rights as citizens. Two small but very 
important classes, the nobility and the clergy, were treated 
differently by the State from the rest of the people. They did 
not have to pay one of the heaviest of the taxes, the notorious 
tattle ; and on one ground or another they escaped other 
burdens which the rest of the citizens bore. For instance, they 
were not required to serve in the militia or help build the roads. 

We have seen how great and powerful the Medieval Church The Church 
was. In France, as in other Catholic countries of Europe, it 
still retained in the eighteenth century a considerable part of 
the power that it had possessed in the thirteenth, and it still 
performed important public functions. It took charge of edu- 
cation and of the relief of the sick and the poor. It was very 
wealthy and is supposed to have owned one fifth of all the 
land in France. The clergy claimed that their property, being 
dedicated to God, was not subject to taxation. They consented, 
however, to help the king from time to time by a "free gift," 
as they called it. The Church still collected the tithes from 
the people, and its vast possessions made it very independent. 

A great part of the enormous income of the Church went The clergy 
to the higher clergy — the bishops, archbishops, and abbots. 
Since these were appointed by the king, often from among his 



478 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The privi- 
leges of the 
nobility 



The feudal 
dues 



The hunting 
rights 



courtiers, they tended to neglect their duties as officers of the 
Church and to become little more than " great lords with a 
hundred thousand francs income.'' But while they were spend- 
ing their time at Versailles the real work was performed — 
and well performed — by the lower clergy, who often received 
scarcely enough to keep soul and body together. This explains 
why, when the Revolution began, the parish priests sided with 
the people instead of with their ecclesiastical superiors. 

The privileges of the nobles, like those of the clergy, had 
originated in the medieval conditions described in an earlier 
chapter. A detailed study of their rights would reveal many 
survivals of the institutions which prevailed in the eleventh and 
twelfth centuries, when the great majority of the people were 
serfs living upon the manors. While serfdom had largely dis- 
appeared in France long before the eighteenth century, and the 
peasants were generally free men who owned or rented their 
land, it was still the theory of the French law that there was 
"no land without its lord." Consequently the lords still enjoyed 
the right to collect a variety of time-honored dues from the 
inhabitants living within the limits of the former manors. 

The privileges and dues enjoyed by the nobles varied greatly 
in different parts of France. It was quite common for the noble 
landowner to have a right to a certain portion of the peas- 
ant's crops ; occasionally he could still collect a toll on sheep 
and cattle driven past his house. In some cases the lord main- 
tained, as he had done in the Middle Ages, the only mill, wine 
press, or oven within a certain district, and could require eveiy 
one to make use of these and pay him a share of the product. 
Even when a peasant owned his land, the neighboring lord 
usually had the right to exact one fifth of its value every time 
it was sold. 

The nobles, too, enjoyed the exclusive privilege of hunting, 
which w r as deemed an aristocratic pastime. The game which 
they preserved for their amusement often did great damage 
to the crops of the peasants, who were forbidden to interfere 



The Eve of the French Revolution 



479 



with hares and deer. Many of the manors had great pigeon 
houses, built in the form of a tower, in which there were one 
or two thousand nests. No wonder the peasants detested these, 
for they were not permitted to protect themselves against the 
innumerable pigeons and their progeny, which spread over 
the fields devouring newly sown seed. These dovecotes con- 
stituted, in fact, one of the chief grievances of the peasants. 




"■it, 



Fig. 130. A Chateau and Pigeon House 

The round tower at the right hand in front is a pigeon house. The 

wall inside is honeycombed with nests, and the pigeons fly in and out 

at the side of the roof 



The higher offices in the army were reserved for the nobles, offices at 
as well as the easiest and most lucrative places in the Church the church 1 
and about the king's person. All these privileges were vestiges ^sJrv&li r 
of the powers which the nobles had enjoyed when they ruled nobles 
their estates as feudal lords. Louis XiV had, as we know, 
induced them to leave their domains and gather round him 
at Versailles, where all who could afford it lived for at least a 
part of the year. 



480 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Only a small 
part of the 
nobles be- 
longed to 
old families 



Only a small part of the nobility in the eighteenth century 
were, however, descendants of the ancient and illustrious feudal 
families of France. The greater part of them had been enno- 
bled in recent times by the king, or had purchased or inherited 



: 



-i^-r 7 'V 



:^5- "-- 










%iii^ 



Fig. 131. Court Scene at Versailles 

The king is surrounded by princes of the royal family and the greatest 
nobles of France while he dresses and shaves upon rising in the morn- 
ing (the levee). Similar ceremonies were performed when the king 
went to bed at night (the couchee). The bed, hung with rich tapes- 
tries, is behind the railing. The door at the left leads into a small room 
— called the Bull's Eye Room {Salon de VGi.il de Btvuf) from the 
round window above the door — where the ambassadors and other 
dignitaries waited to be admitted, and while waiting often planned and 
plotted how to win the king's favor. Louis XIV's bedroom at Ver- 
sailles is still preserved, in much of its old-time splendor ; * for the palace 
is now a museum 

a government office or judgeship which carried the privileges of 
nobility with it. This fact rendered the rights and exemptions 
claimed by the nobility even more odious to the people at large 
than they would otherwise have been. 

1 Its windows are shown in Fig. 104, on the second floor, at the bottom of the 
courtyard, under the flag. 



The Eve of the French Revolution 481 

Everybody who did not belong to either the clergy or the The third 
nobility was regarded as being of the third estate. The third 
estate was therefore really the nation at large, which was made 
up in 1789 of about twenty-five million souls. The privileged 
classes can scarcely have counted altogether more than two hun- 
dred or two hundred and fifty thousand individuals. A great 
part of the third estate lived in the country and tilled the soil. 
Most historians have been inclined to make out their condition 
as very wretched. They were certainly oppressed by an abomi- 
nable system of taxation and were irritated by the dues which 
they had to pay to the lords. They also suffered frequently 
from local famines. Yet there is no doubt that the evils of 
their situation have been greatly exaggerated. When Thomas 
Jefferson traveled through France in 1787 he reports that the 
country people appeared to be comfortable and that they had 
plenty to eat. Arthur Young, a famous English traveler who 
has left us an admirable account of his journeys in France 
'during the years 1787 and 1789, found much prosperity and 
contentment, although he gives, too, some forlorn pictures of 
destitution. 

The latter have often been unduly emphasized by historical Favorable 
writers ; for it has commonly been thought that the Revolution the peasant 
was to be explained by the misery and despair of the people, ln Franc ^ 
who could bear their burdens no longer. If, however, instead with other 

■ r . '1 • ■ ■ <■ 1 '-1-1 1 ii countries 

of comparing the situation of the French peasant under the 
old regime with that of an English or American farmer to-day, 
we contrast his position with that of his fellow peasant in 
Prussia, Russia, Austria, Italy, or Spain, in the eighteenth cen- 
tury, it will be clear that in France the agricultural classes 
were really much better off than elsewhere on the Continent. 
In almost all the other European countries, except England, 
the peasants were still serfs : they had to work certain days in 
each week for their lord ; they could not marry or dispose of Urease of 
their land without his permission. Moreover, the fact that the population 

in the eight- 

population of France had steadily increased from seventeen eenth century 



482 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Popular dis- 
content, not 
the excep- 
tionally 
miserable 
condition of 
the French 
people, 
accounts for 
the Revolu- 
tion 



France still 
a despotism 
in the eight- 
eenth century 



The king's 
control of 
the govern- 
ment funds 



millions after the close of the wars of Louis XIV to about 
twenty-five millions at the opening of the Revolution indicates 
that the general condition of the people was improving rather 
than growing worse. 

The real reason why France was the first among the Euro- 
pean countries to carry out a great reform and do away with 
the irritating survivals of feudalism was not that the nation was 
miserable and oppressed above all others, but that it was suffi- 
ciently free and enlightened to* realize the evils and absurdi- 
ties of the old regime. Mere oppression and misery does not 
account for a revolution ; there must also be active discontent ; 
and of that there was a great abundance in France, as we shall 
see. The French peasant no longer looked up to his lord as 
his ruler and protector, but viewed him as a sort of legalized 
robber who demanded a share of his precious harvest, whose 
officers awaited the farmer at the crossing of the river to claim 
a toll, who would not let him sell his produce when he wished, 
or permit him to protect his fields from the ravages of the- 
pigeons which it pleased his lord to keep. 

In the eighteenth century France was still the despotism 
that Louis XIV had made it. Louis XVI once described it 
very well in the following words : " The sovereign authority 
resides exclusively in my person. To me solely belongs the 
power of making the laws, and without dependence or coop- 
eration. The entire public order emanates from me, and I 
am its supreme protector. My people are one with me. The 
rights and interests of the nation are necessarily identical with 
mine and rest solely in my hands." In short, the king still 
ruled " by the grace of God," as Louis XIV had done. He 
needed to render account to no man for his governmental 
acts ; he was responsible to God alone. The following illustra- 
tions will make clear the dangerous extent of the king's power. 

In the first place, it was he who levied each year the heavi- 
est of the taxes, the hated taille, from which the privileged 
classes were exempted. This tax brought in about one sixth 



The Eve of the French Revolution 483 

of the whole revenue of the State. The amount collected was 
kept secret, and no report was made to the nation of what was 
done with it or, for that matter, with any other part of the 
king's income. Indeed, no distinction was made between the 
king's private funds and the State treasury, whereas in England 
the monarch was given a stated allowance. The king of France 
could issue as many drafts payable to bearer as he wished ; the 
royal officials must pay all such orders and ask no questions. 
Louis XV is said to have spent no less than seventy million 
dollars in this irresponsible fashion in a single year. 

But the king not only controlled his subjects' purses ; he had Lettres de 
a terrible authority over their persons as well. He could issue 
orders for the arrest and arbitrary imprisonment of any one he 
pleased. Without trial or formality of any sort a person might 
be cast into a dungeon for an indefinite period, until the king 
happened to remember him again or was reminded of him by 
the poor man's friends. These notorious orders of arrest were 
called lettres de cachet, that is, sealed letters. They were not diffi- 
cult to obtain for any one who had influence with the king or 
his favorites, and they furnished a particularly easy and effica- 
cious way of disposing of an enemy. These arbitrary orders 
lead one to appreciate the importance of the provision of 
Magna Carta, which runs : " No freeman shall be taken or im- 
prisoned except by the lawful judgment of his peers and in 
accordance with the law of the land." Some of the most 
eminent men of the time were shut up by the king's order, 
often on account of books or pamphlets written by them which 
displeased the king or those about him. The distinguished 
statesman, Mirabeau, when a young man, was imprisoned sev- 
eral times through lettres de cachet obtained by his father as a 
means of checking his reckless dissipation. 

Yet, notwithstanding the seemingly unlimited powers of the Limitations 
French king, and in spite of the fact that France had no written £f theVrench 
constitution and no legislative body to which the nation sent k " 1 S 
representatives, the monarch was by no means absolutely free 



4§4 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The parle- 
ments and 
their protests 



to do just as he pleased. In the first place, the high courts of 
law, the so-called parlements, could often hamper the king. 

These resembled the English Parliament in almost nothing 
but name. The French parlements — of which the most im- 
portant one was at Paris and a dozen more were scattered about 
the provinces — did not, however, confine themselves solely to 



P^ ; ; 



*^~~ 



m\ 





Fig. 132. A Royal Session of Parlement, at 
Versailles, 1776 

The name //'/ de justice (bed of justice) is supposed to come from the 
fact that the king once reclined on a couch, but here he is seated on a 
throne. The members of the parlement, with long gowns and caps, 
can be distinguished from the nobles and princes in their richer court 
dress. Each person had his exact place assigned him, in order of rank 



the business of trying lawsuits. They claimed, and quite prop- 
erly, that when the king decided to make a new law he must 
send it to them to be registered, for how, otherwise, could they 
adjust their decisions to it ? Now although they acknowledged 
that the right to make the laws belonged to the monarch, they 
nevertheless often sent a "protest" to the king instead of 
registering an edict which they disapproved. They would urge 



The Eve of the French Revolution 485 

that the ministers had abused his Majesty's confidence. They 
would also take pains to have their protest printed and sold on 
the streets at a penny or two a copy, so that people should get 
the idea that the parlement was defending the nation against the 
oppressive measures of the king's ministers. 

When the king received one of these protests two alterna- 
tives were open to him. He might recall the distasteful decree 
altogether, or modify it so as to suit the court ; or he could 
summon the parlement before him and in a solemn session 
(called a lit de justice) command it with his own mouth to 
register the law in its records. The parlement would then re- 
luctantly obey ; but as the Revolution approached it began to 
claim that a decree registered against its will was not valid. 

Struggles between the parlements and the king's ministers The /ar/e- 
were very frequent in the eighteenth century. They prepared the ^prepare 
way for the Revolution, first, by bringing important questions *| ^ ay f ° r 
to the attention of the people ; for there were no newspapers, lution 
and no parliamentary or congressional debates, to enable the 
public to understand the policy of the government. Secondly, 
the parlements not only frankly criticized the proposed meas- 
ures of the king and his ministers, but they familiarized the 
nation with the idea that the king was not really at liberty to 
alter what they called " the fundamental laws " of the State. 
By this they meant that there was an unwritten constitution, 
which limited the king's power and of which they were the guar- 
dians. In this way they promoted the growing discontent with 
a government which was carried on in secret and which left 
the nation at the mercy of the men in whom the king might 
for the moment repose confidence. 

In addition to the parlements public opinion often exercised Public 
a powerful check upon the king, even under the autocratic old opmion 
regime. It was, as one of Louis XVI 's ministers declared, " an 
invisible power which, without treasury, guards, or an army, 
ruled Paris and the court, — yes, the very palace of the king." 
The latter half of the eighteenth century was a period of 



486 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Attempts to 
check the 
discussion 
of public 
questions 



outspoken and acrid criticism of the whole existing social and 
governmental system. Reformers, among whom many of the 
king's ministers were counted, loudly and eloquently discussed 
the numerous abuses and the vicious character of the govern- 
ment, which gradually came to seem just as bad to the intelli- 
gent people of that day as it does to us now. 

Although there were no daily newspapers to discuss public 
questions, large numbers of pamphlets were written and circu- 
lated by individuals whenever there was an important crisis, and 
they answered much the same purpose as the editorials in a 
modern newspaper. We have already seen how French philos- 
ophers and reformers, like Voltaire and Diderot, had been en- 
couraged by the freedom of speech which prevailed in England, 
and how industriously they had sown the seeds of discontent in 
their own country. We have seen how in popular works, in 
poems and stories and plays, and above all in the Encydoftcedia, 
they explained the new scientific discoveries, attacked the old 
beliefs and misapprehensions, and encouraged progress. 



How Louis XVI tried to play the Benevolent 
Despot 

Death of 99. In 1774 Louis XV 1 died, after a disgraceful reign of 

andtheacces- which it has not seemed necessary to say much. His unsuc- 
xvi °(i7^ OX ) 1S cess ^ wars > which had ended with the loss of all his American 



possessions and the victory of his enemies in India, had brought 
France to the verge of bankruptcy ; indeed in his last years his 
ministers repudiated a portion of the government's obligations. 
The taxes were already so oppressive as to arouse universal 
discontent, and yet the government was running behind seventy 
millions of dollars a year. The king's personal conduct was 
scandalous, and he allowed his mistresses and courtiers to meddle 
in public affairs and plunder the royal treasury for themselves 

1 He came to the throne in 1 715 as a boy of five, on the death of Louis XIV, 
his great-grandfather. 



The Eve of the French Revolution 487 

and their favorites. When at last he was carried off by smallpox 
every one hailed, with hopes of better times, the accession of 
his grandson and successor, Louis XVI. 

The new king was but twenty years old, ill educated, indo- Character of 
lent, unsociable, and very fond of hunting and of pottering about 
in a workshop, where he spent his happiest hours. He was a 
well-meaning young man, with none of his grandfather's vices, 
who tried now and then to attend to the disagreeable business 
of government, and would gladly have made his people happy 
if that had not required more energy than he possessed. He 
had none of the restless interest in public affairs that we found 
in Frederick the Great, Catherine II, or his brother-in-law, 
Joseph II ; he was never tempted to rise at five o'clock in the 
morning in order to read State papers. 

His wife was the beautiful Marie Antoinette, daughter of Marie 
Maria Theresa. The marriage had been arranged in 1770 with 
a view of maintaining the alliance which had been concluded be- 
tween France and Austria in 1756. 1 The queen was only nine- 
teen years old when she came to the throne, light-hearted and on 
pleasure bent. She disliked the formal etiquette of the court at 
Versailles and shocked people by her thoughtless pranks. She 
rather despised her heavy husband, who did not care to share 
in the amusements which pleased her best. She did not hesitate 
to interfere in the government when she wished to help one of 
her favorites or to make trouble for some one she disliked. 

At first Louis XVI took his duties very seriously. It seemed Turgot, con- 
for a time that he might find a place among the benevolent e rai ^1774-" 
despots who were then ruling in Europe. He almost immedi- I776 ) 
ately placed the ablest of all the French economists, Turgot, 
in the most important of the government offices, that of con- 
troller general. Turgot was an experienced government official 
as well as a scholar. 

The first and most natural measure was economy, for only 
in that way could the government be saved from bankruptcy 
1 See above, p. 414. 



488 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Turgot and the burden of taxation be lightened. Turgot felt that the 

economy vast amount spent in maintaining the luxury of the royal court 

at Versailles should be reduced. The establishments of the 







&M& 





Fig. 133. A Letter of Marie Antoinette 

A page of a letter written July 12, 1770, to her mother, Maria Theresa. 
The handwriting, mistakes in spelling, and general carelessness show 
what an undeveloped girl she was when she came to the gay court of 
Versailles. She says in the letter that she has no other time to write 
than while she is dressing and cannot reply exactly to the last letter 
because she has burned it. Now she must stop in order to dress and 
go to mass in the king's chapel. She adds in postscript that she is 
sending a list of the wedding presents, thinking that that will entertain 
{amuser) her mother 

king, the queen, and the princes of the blood royal cost the 
State annually about twelve million dollars. Then the French 
king had long been accustomed to grant " pensions " in a 



The Eve of the French Revolution 489 

reckless manner to his favorites, and this required nearly 
twelve million dollars more. 

Any attempt, however, to reduce this amount would arouse How the 
the immediate opposition of the courtiers, and it was the governed 
courtiers who really governed France. They had every oppor- France 
tunity to influence the king's mind against a man whose 
economies they disliked. They were constantly about the 
monarch from the moment when he awoke in the morning 
until he went to bed at night ; therefore they had an obvious 
advantage over Turgot, who only saw him in business hours. 1 

An Italian economist, when he heard of Turgot's appoint- Turgot's 
ment, wrote to a friend in France as follows : " So Turgot is 
controller general ! He will not remain in office long enough 
to carry out his plans. He will punish some scoundrels ; he 
will bluster about and lose his temper; he will be anxious to do 
good, but will run against obstacles and rogues at every turn. 
Public credit will fall ; he will be detested ; it will be said that 
he is not fitted for his task. Enthusiasm will cool; he will 
retire or be sent off, and we shall have a new proof of the 
mistake of filling a position like his in a monarchy like yours 
with an upright man and a philosopher." 

The Italian could not have made a more accurate statement Turgot dis- 
of the case had he waited until after the dismissal of Turgot, JJ, 1 ^ 6 ' ay ' 
which took place in May, 1776, much to the satisfaction of the 
court. Although the privileged classes so stoutly opposed 
Turgot's reforms that he did not succeed in abolishing the 
abuses himself, 2 he did a great deal to forward their destruc- 
tion not many years after his retirement. 

Necker, who after a brief interval succeeded Turgot, con- Neckersuc- 
tributed to the progress of the coming revolution in two ways. 
He borrowed vast sums of money in order to carry on the war 

1 See Turgot's letter to the king, August, 1774, in Readings in European 
History, Vol. II, pp. 386 ff. 

2 Turgot succeeded in inducing the king to abolish the guilds and the forced 
labor on the roads, but the decrees were revoked after Turgot's dismissal. 



49Q 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Necker's 
financial 
report 



which France, as the ally of the United States, had undertaken 
against England. This greatly embarrassed the treasury later 
and helped to produce the financial crisis which was the imme- 
diate cause of the Revolution. Secondly, he gave the nation its 
first opportunity of learning what was done with the public 
funds, by presenting to the king (February, 1781) a report on 
the financial condition of the kingdom ; this was publicly printed 




Fig. 134. Turgot 



Calonne, 
controller 
general, 
1 783-1 787 



and eagerly read. There the people could see for the first time 
how much the tattle and the salt tax actually took from them, 
and how much the king spent on himself and his favorites. 

Necker was soon followed by Calonne, who may be said to 
have precipitated the French Revolution. He was very popular 
at first with king and courtiers, for he spent the public funds far 
more recklessly than his predecessors. But, naturally, he soon 
found himself in a position where he could obtain no more 
money. The parleme?its would consent to no more loans in a 



The Eve of the French Revolution 49 1 

period of peace, and the taxes were as high as it was deemed Calonne 
possible to make them. At last Calonne, finding himself des- Sng^at 
perately put to it, informed the astonished king that the State F rance 1S or } 
was on the verge of bankruptcy and that in order to save it a bankruptcy, 
radical reformation of the whole public order was necessary. 
This report of Calonne's may be taken as the beginning of the 
French Revolution, for it was the first of the series of events 
that led to the calling of a representative assembly which abolished 
the old regime and gave France a written constitution. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 98. How should the French Revolution be distinguished 
from the Reign of Terror ? What is the meaning of ancient regime ? 
Why was France so ill organized in the eighteenth century? Give 
some examples of the differences which existed between the various 
provinces. Who were the privileged classes, and what were their 
privileges ? Give examples of the feudal dues. In what respects was 
the French peasant more happily situated than his fellows in other 
parts of Europe? What were the chief powers of the French 
monarch? What were lettres de cachet? What limitations were 
placed upon the king's power ? What did the parlements do to for- 
ward the coming revolution ? What is meant by public opinion, and 
what chances does it have to express itself to-day that it did not have 
in France before the Revolution ? 

Section 99. Who was Louis XVI ? Tell something of his wife. 
Why did Turgot fail to remedy any of the abuses ? What happened 
under Necker to forward the Revolution ? Why was Calonne forced 
to admit that he could not carry on the government unless reforms 
were introduced? 



CHAPTER XXIV 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 



How the Estates were summoned in 1789 



Reforms 
proposed by 
Calonne 



Summoning 
of the Nota- 
bles, 1786 



100. It was necessary, in order to avoid ruin, Calonne 
claimed, " to reform everything vicious in the state." He pro- 
posed, therefore, to reduce the taille, reform the salt tax, do 
away with the interior customs lines, correct the abuses of the 
guilds, etc. But the chief reform, and by far the most difficult 
one, was to force the privileged classes to surrender their im- 
portant exemptions from taxation. He hoped, however, that if 
certain concessions were made to them they might be brought 
to consent to a land tax to be paid by all alike. So he pro- 
posed to the king that he should summon an assembly of per- 
sons prominent in Church and State, called Notables, to ratify 
certain changes which would increase the prosperity of the 
country and give the treasury money enough to meet the 
necessary expenses. 

The summoning of the Notables in 1786 was really a revolu- 
tion in itself. It was a confession on the part of the king that he 
found himself in a predicament from which he could not escape 
without the aid of his people. The Notables whom he selected 

— bishops, archbishops, dukes, judges, high government officials 

— were practically all members of the privileged classes ; but 
they still represented the nation, after a fashion, as distinguished 
from the king's immediate circle of courtiers. At any rate it 
proved an easy step from calling the Notables to summoning 
the ancient Estates General, and that, in its turn, speedily 
became a modern representative body. 

492 



The French Revolution 493 

In his opening address Calonne gave the Notables an idea of Calonne 
the sad financial condition of the country. The government was th<?abuses 
running behind some forty million dollars a year. He could 
not continue to borrow, and economy, however strict, would not 
suffice to cover the deficit. " What, then," he asked, " remains 
to fill this frightful void and enable us to raise the revenue to 
the desired level? The Abuses! Yes, gentlemen, the abuses 
offer a source of wealth which the state should appropriate, 
and which should serve to reestablish order in the finances. . . . 
The abuses which must now be destroyed for the welfare of the 
people are the most important and the best guarded of all, the 
very ones which have the deepest roots and the most spreading 
branches. For example, those which weigh on the laboring 
classes, the privileges, exceptions to the law which should be 
common to all, and many an unjust exemption which can only 
relieve certain taxpayers by embittering the condition of others ; 
the general want of uniformity in the assessment of the taxes 
and the enormous difference which exists between the contribu- 
tions of different provinces and of the subjects of the same 
sovereign ; " — all these evils, which public-spirited citizens had 
long deprecated, Calonne proposed to do away with forthwith. 

The Notables, however, had no confidence in Calonne, and Calonne and 
refused to ratify his program of reform. The king then dismissed 
dismissed him and soon sent them home, too (May, 1787). 
Louis XVI then attempted to carry through some of the more 
pressing financial reforms in the usual way by sending them to 
the parlements to be registered. 

The parlement of Paris resolved, as usual, to make the The farle- 

king's ministry trouble and gain popularity for itself. This time refuses to 

it resorted to a truly extraordinary measure. It not only refused j^^and ew 

to register two new taxes which the king desired but asserted calls for the 

Estates 
that " Only the nation assembled in the Estates General can give General 

the consent necessary to the establishment of a permanent tax." 

" Only the nation," the parlement continued, " after it has 

learned the true state of the finances can destroy the great 



494 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The Estates 

General 

summoned 



General 
ignorance in 
regard to the 
Estates 
General 



The old 
system of 
voting by 
classes in 
the Estates 
General 



Objections to 
this system 



abuses and open up important resources." This declaration 
was followed in a few days by the humble request that the king 
assemble the Estates General of his kingdom. The parhments 
not only refused to register taxes but continued during the fol- 
lowing months to do everything that they could to embarrass 
the king's ministers. There seemed no other resort except to 
call the representatives of the people together. The Estates 
General were accordingly summoned to meet on May i, 1789. 

It was now discovered that no one knew much about this 
body of which every one was talking, for it had not met since 
16 14. The king accordingly issued a general invitation to schol- 
ars to find out all they could about the customs observed in the 
former meetings of the Estates. The public naturally became 
very much interested in a matter which touched them so closely, 
and there were plenty of readers for the pamphlets which now 
began to appear in great numbers. The old Estates General 
had been organized in a way appropriate enough to the feudal 
conditions under which they originated. 1 All three of the estates 
of the realm — clergy, nobility, and third estate — were accus- 
tomed to send an equal number of representatives, who were 
expected to consider not the interests of the nation but the 
special interests of the particular social class to which they re- 
spectively belonged. Accordingly, the deputies of the three 
estates did not sit together, or vote as a single body. The 
members of each group first came to an agreement among 
themselves, and then a single vote was cast for the whole order. 

It was natural that this system should seem preposterous to 
the average Frenchman in 1788. If the Estates should be con- 
voked according to the ancient forms, the two privileged classes 
would be entitled to twice the number of representatives allotted 
to the nation at large. What was much worse, it seemed impos- 
sible that any important reforms could be adopted in an assem- 
bly where those who had every selfish reason for opposing the 
most necessary changes were given two votes out of three. 

1 See above, pp. 133, 134. 



The French Revolution 495 

Necker, whom the king had recalled in the hope that he might 
succeed in adjusting the finances, agreed that the third estate 
might have as many deputies as both the other orders put 
together, namely six hundred, but he would not consent to 
having the three orders sit and vote together like a modern 
representative body. 

Besides the great question as to whether the deputies should The cahiers 
vote by head or by order, the pamphlets discussed what reforms 
the Estates should undertake. We have, however, a still more 
interesting and important expression of public opinion in France 
at this time, in the cahiers} or lists of grievances and suggestions 
for reform which, in pursuance of an old custom, the king asked 
the nation to prepare. Each village and town throughout France 
had an opportunity to tell quite frankly exactly what it suffered 
from the existing system, and what reforms it wished that the 
Estates General might bring about. These cahiers were the 
" last will and testament " of the old regime, and they consti- 
tute a unique historical document, of unparalleled completeness 
and authenticity. No one can read the cahiers without seeing 
that the whole nation was ready for the great transformation 
which within a year was to destroy a great part of the social 
and political system under which the French had lived for 
centuries. 

Almost all the cahiers agreed that the prevailing disorder and Desire of the 
the vast and ill-defined powers of the king and his ministers were constitu? 
perhaps the fundamental evils. One of the cahiers says : " Since t lonal > 

r r J instead of 

arbitrary power has been the source of all the evils which afflict an absolute, 
the state, our first desire is the establishment of a really national 
constitution, which shall define the rights of all and provide the 
laws to maintain them." No one dreamed at this time of dis- 
placing the king or of taking the government out of his hands. 
The people only wished to change an absolute monarchy into 
a limited, or constitutional, one. All that was necessary was that 
the things which the government might not do should be solemnly 

1 Pronounced ka-ya'. 



496 Medieval and Modern Times 

and irrevocably determined and put upon record, and that the 
Estates General should meet periodically to grant the taxes, give 
the king advice in national crises, and expostulate, if necessary, 
against any violations of the proposed charter of liberties. 
The Estates With these ideas in mind, the Estates assembled in Versailles 

MayT^^ End held theil " ^ SeSsion 0n Ma >" 5' I 7 8 9' The kin g had 

ordered the deputies to wear the same costumes that had been 
worn at the last meeting of the Estates in 1 6 1 4 ; but no royal 
edict could call back the spirit of earlier centuries. In spite of 
the king's commands the representatives of the third estate re- 
fused to organize themselves in the old way as a separate order. 
They sent invitation after invitation to the deputies of the clergy 
and nobility, requesting them to join the people's representa- 
tives and deliberate in common on the great interests of the 
nation. Some of the more liberal of the nobles — Lafayette, for 
example — and a large minority of the clergy wished to meet 
The repre- with the deputies of the third estate. But they were outvoted, 
of the third and the deputies of the third estate, losing patience, finally de- 
themlelves^ 6 clared themselves, on June 17, a "National Assembly." They 
a " National argued that, since they represented at least ninety-six per cent 
of the nation, the deputies of the privileged orders might be 
neglected altogether. This usurpation of power on the part of 
the third estate transformed the old feudal Estates, voting by 
orders, into the first modern national representative assembly 
on the continent of Europe. 
The "Tennis- Under the influence of his courtiers the king tried to restore 

Court" oath •*■>■, , . , . . r , , 

the old system by arranging a solemn joint session 01 the three 
orders, at which he presided in person. He presented a long 
program of excellent reforms, and then bade the Estates sit 
apart, according to the old custom. But it was like bidding water 
to run up hill. Three days before, when the commons had found 
themselves excluded from their regular place of meeting on ac- 
count of the preparations for the royal session, they had betaken 
themselves to a neighboring building called the " Tennis Court." 
Here, on June 20, they took the famous " Tennis-Court " oath, 






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The French Revohttion 497 

" to come together wherever circumstances may dictate, until 
the constitution of the kingdom shall be established." 

Consequently, when the king finished his address and com- The nobility 
manded the three orders to disperse immediately in order to forcecHcF 
resume their separate sessions, most of the bishops, some of the jhlrdestate 
parish priests, and a great part of the nobility obeyed ; the rest 




Fig. 135. Louis XVI 

Louis was a well-meaning man, but not clever. He enjoyed working 
with tools like a locksmith or going hunting, but did not understand the 
needs of France. His clever, strong-willed queen, Marie Antoinette, 
was responsible for most of the few things he did to try to stop the 
Revolution, and she was too headstrong to listen to wise advice 

sat still, uncertain what they should do. When the master of 
ceremonies ordered them to comply with the king's commands, 
Mirabeau, the most distinguished statesman among the deputies, 
told him bluntly that they would not leave their places except 
at the point of the bayonet. The weak king almost immediately 
gave in and a few days later ordered all the deputies of the 
privileged orders who had not already done so to join the commons. 



49 8 Medieval and Modem Times 



First Reforms of the National Assembly, July to 
October, 1789 

The fall of i oi. The National Assembly now began in earnest the great 

July 14, 1789 task of preparing a constitution and regenerating France. It 
was soon interrupted, however, by events at Paris. The king 
had been advised by those about him to gather together the 
Swiss and German troops who formed the royal guard, so that 
if he decided to send the insolent deputies home he would be 
able to put down any disorder which might result. He was also 
induced to dismiss Necker, who enjoyed a popularity that he 
had done little to merit. When the people of Paris saw the 
troops gathering and when they heard of the dismissal of Necker, 
there was general excitement and some disorder. 

On July 14 crowds of people assembled, determined to pro- 
cure arms to protect themselves and mayhap to perform some 
daring " deed of patriotism." One of the bands, led by the old 
Parisian guards, turned to the ancient fortress of the Bastille, 
on the parapets of which guns had been mounted which made 
the inhabitants of that part of the city very nervous. The castle 
had long had a bad reputation as a place of confinement for 
prisoners of State and for those imprisoned by lettres de cachet. 
When the mob demanded admission, it was naturally denied 
them, and they were fired upon and nearly a hundred were 
killed. After a brief, courageous attack the place was surren- 
dered, and the mob rushed into the gloomy pile. They found 
only seven prisoners, but one poor fellow had lost his wits and 
another had no idea why he had been kept there for years. The 
captives were freed amidst great enthusiasm, and the people 
soon set to work to demolish the walls. 
Formation of The anniversary of the fall of the Bastille is still celebrated as 
guard" the great national holiday of France. The rising of the people 

to protect themselves against the machinations of the king's 
associates who, it was believed, wished to block reform, and the 



The French Revolution 



499 



successful attack on a monument of ancient tyranny appeared 
to be the opening of a new era of freedom. The disorders of 
these July days led to the formation of the " national guard." 
This was made up of volunteers from among the more pros- 
perous citizens, who organized themselves to maintain order and 







-5^ 




imMife i± -_'^i_'r- ~ ^mm& 



Fig. 136. The Taking of the Bastille 

This picture of the capture of the Bastille, by a contemporary artist, 

shows the mob assisting the attacking party, who have passed the outer 

works by the drawbridge on the right and are already crowding into 

the stronghold itself by the inner drawbridge 



so took from the king every excuse for calling in the regular 
troops for that purpose. Lafayette was put in command of 
this body. 

The government of Paris was reorganized, and a mayor, 
chosen from among the members of the National Assembly, was 
put at the head of the new Commune, as the municipal govern- 
ment was called. The other cities of France also began with 
one accord, after the dismissal of Necker and the fall of the 



Establish- 
ment of 
communes 
in Paris and 
other cities 



5oo 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The decree 
abolishing 
the survivals 
of serfdom 
and feudal- 
ism, August, 
1789 



Unification 
of France 
through the 
abolition of 
the ancient 
provinces and 
the creation 
of the present 
departments 



Bastille, to promote the Revolution by displacing or supple- 
menting their old royal or aristocratic governments by commit- 
tees of their citizens. These improvised communes, or city 
governments, established national guards, as Paris had done, 
and thus maintained order. The Commune of Paris later 
played a very important role in the Reign of Terror. 

About the first of August news began to reach the National 
Assembly of the serious disorders in the provinces. In some 
cases the peasants burned the country houses of the nobles so 
as to destroy the registers enumerating the feudal dues. This 
led to the first important reforms of the Assembly. A momen- 
tous resolution abolishing the survivals of serfdom and other 
institutions of feudalism was passed in a night session (August 
4-5) 1 amid great excitement, the representatives of the privi- 
leged orders vying with each other in surrendering the ancient 
privileges they could no longer keep. The exclusive right of the 
nobility to hunt and to maintain pigeon houses was abolished, 
and the peasant was permitted to kill game which he found on 
his land. The tithes of the Church were done away with. Ex- 
emptions from the payment of taxes were abolished forever. It 
was decreed that " taxes shall be collected from all citizens and 
from all property in the same manner and in the same form," 
and that " all citizens, without distinction of birth, are eligible 
to any office or dignity." Moreover, " all the peculiar privileges, 
pecuniary or otherwise, of the provinces, principalities, districts, 
cantons, cities and communes, are once for all abolished and 
are absorbed into the law common to all Frenchmen." 

This decree established the equality and uniformity for 
which the French people had sighed so long. The injustice 
of the former system of taxation could' never be reintroduced. 
All France was to have the same laws, and its citizens were 
henceforth to be treated in the same way by the State, whether 
they lived in Brittany or Dauphiny. The Assembly soon went 

1 The formal decree was drawn up a week later, August 11. See Readings in 
Modern European History ', Vol. I, p. 256. 



The French Revolution 501 

a step farther in consolidating and unifying France. It wiped 
out the old provinces altogether, by dividing the whole country 
into districts of convenient size, called departme7its. These 
were much more numerous than the ancient divisions, and 
were named after rivers and mountains. This obliterated from 
the map all reminiscences of the feudal disunion. 

Many of the cahiers had suggested that the Estates should TheDeclara- 
draw up a clear statement of the rights of the individual citizen. thTiiights 
The National Assembly consequently determined to prepare of Man 
such a declaration in order to reassure the people and to form 
a basis for the new constitution. 

This Declaration (completed August 26) is one of the most 
notable documents in the history of Europe. It not only 
aroused general enthusiasm when it was first published, but it 
appeared over and over again, in a modified form, in the suc- 
ceeding French constitutions down to 1848, and has been the 
model for similar declarations in many of the other continental 
states. It was a dignified repudiation of the abuses described 
in the preceding chapter. Behind each article there was some 
crying evil of long standing against which the people wished 
to be forever protected. 

The Declaration sets forth that " Men are born and remain Contents 
equal in rights. Social distinctions can only be founded upon Declaration 
the general good." " Law is the expression of the general will. 
Every citizen has a right to participate, personally or through 
his representative, in its formation. It must be the same for 
all." " No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned ex- 
cept in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by 
law." " No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, 
including his religious views, provided that their manifestation 
does not disturb the public order established by law." " The 
free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most 
precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, 
speak, write, and print with freedom, being responsible, how- 
ever, for such abuses of this freedom. as shall be defined by 



502 



Medieval and Modern Times 



law." " All citizens have a right to decide, either personally or 
by their representative, as to the necessity of the public con- 
tribution, to grant this freely, to know to what uses it is put, 
and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of col- 
lection, and the duration of the taxes." " Society has the right 
to require of every public agent an account of his administra- 
tion." Well might the Assembly claim, in its address to the 
people, that " the rights of man had been misconceived and in- 
sulted for centuries," and boast that they were " reestablished 
for all humanity in this declaration, which shall serve as an 
everlasting war cry against oppressors." 



Suspicion 
aroused 
against 
the court 



A Paris mob 
invades the 
king's palace 
and carries 
him off to 
Paris 



The National Assembly in Paris, October, 1789, 
to September, 1791 

102. The king hesitated to ratify the Declaration of the 
Rights of Man, and about the first of October rumors became 
current that, under the influence of the courtiers, he was calling 
together troops and preparing for another attempt to put an 
end to the Revolution, similar to that which the attack on the 
Bastille had frustrated. It was said that the new national colors 
— red, white, and blue — had been trampled under foot at a 
banquet at Versailles. These things, along with the scarcity of 
food due to the poor crops of the year, aroused the excitable 
Paris populace. 

On October 5 several thousand women and a number of 
armed men marched out to Versailles to ask bread of the king, 
in whom they had great confidence personally, however sus- 
picious they might be of his friends and advisers. Lafayette 
marched after the mob with the national guard to keep order, 
but did not prevent some of the rabble from invading the 
king's palace the next morning and nearly murdering the 
queen, who had become very unpopular. She was believed to 
be still an Austrian at heart and to be in league with the 
counter-revolutionary party. 



The French Revolution 503 

The mob declared that the king must accompany them to 
Paris, and he was obliged to consent. Far from being disloyal, 
they assumed that the presence of the royal family would 
insure plenty and prosperity. So they gayly escorted the 
" baker and the baker's wife and the baker's boy," as they 
jocularly termed the king and queen and the little dauphin, 
to the Palace of the Tuileries, where the king took up his 
residence, practically a prisoner, as it proved. The National 




Fig. 137. March of the Women to Versailles 

Assembly soon followed him and resumed its sittings in a 
riding school near the Tuileries. 

This transfer of the king and the Assembly to the capital 
was the first great misfortune of the Revolution. At a serious 
crisis the government was placed at the mercy of the leaders 
of the disorderly elements of Paris. We shall see how the 
municipal council of Paris finally usurped the powers of the 
national government. 

As we have seen, the Church in France was very rich and Unjust appor- 
retained many of its medieval prerogatives and privileges. 1 t h e revenue 
Its higher officials, the bishops and abbots, received very large oftheChurch 

1 See above, p. 454. 



504 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The property 
of the Church 
confiscated 
by the 
government 



The assig- 
nats, or 
paper 
currency 



revenues and often a single prelate held a number of rich bene- 
fices, the duties of which he utterly neglected. The parish 
priests, on the other hand, who really performed the manifold 
and important functions of the Church, were scarcely able to 
live on their incomes. This unjust apportionment of the vast 
revenue of the Church naturally suggested the idea that, if the 
State confiscated the ecclesiastical possessions, it could see that 
those who did the work were properly paid for it, and might, 
at the same time, secure a handsome sum which would help the 
government out of its financial troubles. Those who sympa- 
thized with Voltaire's views were naturally delighted to see their 
old enemy deprived of its independence and made subservient 
to the State, and even many good Catholics could not but hope 
that the new system would be an improvement upon the old. 

The tithes had been abolished in August along with the 
feudal dues. That deprived the Church of perhaps thirty 
million dollars a year. On November 2 a decree was passed 
providing that " All the ecclesiastical possessions are at the dis- 
posal of the nation on condition that it provides properly for 
the expenses of maintaining religious services, for the support 
of those who conduct them and for the succor of the poor." 1 
This decree deprived the bishops and priests of their benefices 
and made them dependent on salaries paid by the State. The 
monks, monasteries, and convents, too, lost their property. 

The National Assembly resolved to issue a paper currency 
for which the newly acquired lands should serve as security. 
Of these assignats, as this paper money was called, about forty 
billions of francs were issued in the next seven years. But since 
so much land was thrown on the market, they were worth less 
and less as time went on, and ultimately a great part of them 
was repudiated. 

The Assembly set to work completely to reorganize the 
Church. The anxiety for complete uniformity shows itself in 



1 This property never reverted to the Church again, 
cathedrals and churches remained national property. 



Consequently even 



The French Revolution 



505 



the reckless way that it dealt with this most venerable institu- The Civil 

tion of France, the customs of which were hallowed by age f t h e clergy 

and religious veneration. The one hundred and thirty-four 

ancient bishoprics, some of which dated back to the Roman 

Empire, were replaced by the eighty-three new departments 

into which France had already been divided. 1 Each of these 

became the diocese of a bishop, who was looked upon as an 



JJornamesmatloruuix. 
Assignat 

pajjaHe^aiuporteur. 








EUteBMBMBi 



Fig. 138. Assign at 

This piece of paper money, which resembled the bank note of to-day, 

was of the face value of 10 livres\ but before the Revolution was over 

it was almost worthless. So many were printed, however, that one can 

still find copies in old curiosity shops, costing only a few cents 



officer of the State and was to be elected by the people. The 
priests, too, were to be chosen by the people, and their salaries 
were much increased, so that even in the smallest villages 
they received over twice the minimum amount paid under the 
old regime. 

This Civil Constitution of the Clergy was the first serious 
mistake on the part of the National Assembly. While the half- 
feudalized Church had sadly needed reform, the worst abuses 
might have been remedied without shocking and alienating 



1 See above, p. 500. 



5o6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Harsh treat- 
ment of the 
" nonjuring ' 
clergy 



thousands of those who had hitherto enthusiastically applauded 
the great reforms which the Assembly had effected. Louis XVI 
gave his assent to the changes, but with the feeling that he 
might be losing his soul by so doing. From that time on, he 
became at heart an enemy of the Revolution. 

The discontent with the new system on the part of the 
clergy led to another serious error on the part of the Assembly. 
It required the clergy to take an oath to be faithful to the 
law and " to maintain with all their might the constitution 
decreed by the Assembly." Only six of the bishops consented 
to this and but a third of the lower clergy, although they were 
much better off under the new system. Forty-six thousand 
parish priests refused to sacrifice their religious scruples, and 
before long the pope forbade them to take the required oath 
to the constitution. As time went on, the " nonjuring " clergy 
were dealt with more and more harshly by the government, 
and the way was prepared for the horrors of the Reign 
of Terror. 



France becomes involved in a War with Other 
European Powers 



The perma- 
nent reforms 
of 1789 



The second 
revolution 



103. We have now studied the progress and nature of the 
revolution which destroyed the old regime and created modern 
France. Through it the unjust privileges, the perplexing irreg- 
ularities, and the local differences were abolished, and the peo- 
ple admitted to a share in the government. This vast reform 
had been accomplished without serious disturbance and, with 
the exception of some of the changes in the Church, it had 
been welcomed with enthusiasm by the French nation. 

This permanent, peaceful revolution, or reformation, was fol- 
lowed by a second revolution of unprecedented violence, which 
for a time destroyed the French monarchy. It also intro- 
duced a series of further changes, many of which were absurd 
and unnecessary and could not endure since they were approved 




EYRONJ/^p^. 

- "\ *G* 



l""^fvMontpellier 
*,' HERAUL 



MEDITERR 



4° longitude East 6° from Greenwich 8° 



The French Revolution 507 

by only a few fanatical leaders. France, moreover, became 
involved in a war with most of the powers of western Europe. 
The weakness of her government which permitted the forces 
of disorder and fanaticism to prevail, combined with the immi- 
nent danger of an invasion by the united powers of Europe, 
produced the Reign of Terror. 

While practically the whole of the nation heartily rejoiced in The emigra- 
the earlier reforms introduced by the National Assembly and nobles 
celebrated the general satisfaction and harmony by a great 
national festival held at Paris on the first anniversary of the fall 
of the Bastille, some of the higher nobility refused to remain in 
France. The king's youngest brother, the count of Artois, set 
the example by leaving the country. He was followed by others 
who were terrified or disgusted by the burning of their country 
houses, the loss of their privileges, and the unwise abolition of 
hereditary nobility by the National Assembly in June, 1790. 
Before long these emigrant nobles (emigres), among whom were 
many military officers, organized a little army across the Rhine, 
and the count of Artois began to plan an invasion of France. 
He was ready to ally himself with Austria, Prussia, or any other 
foreign government which he ~ could induce to help undo the 
Revolution and give back to the French king his former abso- 
lute power and to the nobles their old privileges. 

The threats and insolence of the emigrant nobles and their The conduct 
shameful negotiations with foreign powers discredited the mem- gr^nobies 
bers of their class who still remained in France. The people dj sc £: di ts 
suspected that the plans of the runaways met with the secret and queen 
approval of the king, and more especially of the queen, whose 
brother was now emperor and ruler of the Austrian dominions. 
This, added to the opposition of the nonjuring clergy, produced 
a bitter hostility between the so-called " patriots " and those 
who, on the other hand, were supposed to be secretly hoping 
for a counter revolution which would reestablish the old regime. 

The worst fears of the people appeared to be justified by 
the secret flight of the royal family from Paris, in June, 1791. 



5o8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The flight to 
Varennes, 
June 21, 1791 



Ever since the king had reluctantly signed the Civil Constitution 
of the Clergy, flight had seemed to him his only resource. 
There was a body of French troops on the northeastern 
boundary; if he could escape from Paris and join them he 
hoped that, aided by a demonstration on the part of the queen's 
brother, Leopold II, emperor of Germany, he might march 
back and check the further progress of the revolutionary move- 
ment with which he could no longer sympathize. He and the 

queen were, however, arrested 
on the way, at Varennes, and 
speedily brought back to Paris. 
The desertion of the king ap- 
pears to have terrified rather than 
angered the nation. The grief 
of the people at the thought of 
losing, and their joy at regaining, 
a poor weak ruler like Louis XVI 
clearly shows that France was 
still profoundly royalist in its 
sympathies. The National As- 
sembly pretended that the king 
had not fled, but that he had 
been carried off. This gratified 
France at large ; still in Paris 
there were some who advocated the deposition of the king, 
and for the first time a republican party appeared, though it 
was still small. 

The National Assembly at last put the finishing touches to 
the new constitution upon which it had been working for two 
years, and the king readily swore to observe it faithfully. All 




Fig. 139. Caricature: 
Louis XVI as Consti- 
tutional Monarch 1 



1 The formerly despotic king is represented as safely caged by the National 
Assembly. When asked by Marie Antoinette's brother, the Emperor Leopold, 
what he is doing, Louis XVI replies, " I am signing my name," — that is, he had 
nothing to do except meekly to ratify the measures which the Assembly chose 
to pass. This condition of a king was intolerable to other monarchs of the 
Continent. 



The French Revolution 509 

the discord and suspicion of the past months were to be for- The consti- 

:om- 
1791 



gotten. The National Assembly had completed its appointed pieSd C °' 



task, perhaps the greatest that a single body of men ever under- 
took. It had made France over and had given her an elaborate 
constitution. It was now ready to give way to the regular Leg- 
islative Assembly provided for in the constitution. This held its 
first session October 1, 1791. 

In spite of the great achievements of the National Assembly Sources of 
it left France in a critical situation. Besides the emigrant nobles pemng * & 
abroad, there were the nonjuring clergy at home and a king ° ftl l e . 
who was secretly corresponding with foreign powers with the Assembly, 
hope of securing their aid. When the news of the arrest of 
the king and queen at Varennes reached the ears of Marie 
Antoinette's brother Leopold, he declared that the violent arrest 
of the king sealed with unlawfulness all that had been done in 
France and " compromised directly the honor of all the sover- 
eigns and the security of every government." He therefore 
proposed to the rulers of Russia, England, Prussia, Spain, 
Naples, and Sardinia that they should come to some under- 
standing among themselves as to how they might " reestablish 
the liberty and honor of the most Christian king and his 
family, and place a check upon the dangerous excesses of the 
French Revolution, the fatal example of which it behooves 
every government to repress." 

On August 27 Leopold had issued, in conjunction with the TheDeclara- 
king of Prussia, the famous Declaration of Pillnitz. 1 In this pninitz 
the two sovereigns state that, in accordance with the wishes of ^ u ^ ust 2 . 7 ' 
the king's brothers (the leaders of the emigrant nobles), they are 
ready to join the other European rulers in an attempt to place 
the king of France in a position to establish a form of govern- 
ment " that shall be once more in harmony with the rights of 
sovereigns and shall promote the welfare of the French nation." 
In the meantime they promised to prepare their troops for 
active service. 

1 See Readings in Modern European History, Vol. I, p. 282. 



5io 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Effect of the 
Declaration 



The news- 
papers 



The Jacobins 



The Declaration was little more than an empty threat ; but 
it seemed to the "French people a sufficient proof that the mon- 
archs were ready to help the seditious French nobles to 
reestablish the old re'gime against the wishes of the nation 
and at the cost of infinite bloodshed. The idea of foreign 
rulers intermeddling with their internal affairs would in itself 
have been intolerable to a proud people like the French, even 
if the permanence of the new reforms had not been endan- 
gered. Had it been the object of the allied monarchs to hasten 
instead of to prevent the deposition of Louis XVI, they could 
hardly have chosen a more efficient means than the Declara- 
tion of Pillnitz. 

The political excitement and the enthusiasm for the Revolu- 
tion were kept up by the newspapers which had been estab- 
lished, especially in Paris, since the meeting of the Estates 
General. The people did not need longer to rely upon an oc- 
casional pamphlet, as was the case before 1789. Many journals 
of the most divergent kinds and representing the most diverse 
opinions were published. Some were no more than a periodical 
editorial written by one man; for example, the notorious "Friend 
of the People," by the insane Marat. Others, like the famous 
Moniteur, were much like our papers of to-day and contained 
news, reports of the debates in the Assembly, announcements 
of theaters, etc. Some of the papers were illustrated, and 
the representations of contemporaneous events, especially the 
numerous caricatures, are highly diverting. 

Of the numerous political clubs, by far the most famous was 
that of the " Jacobins." When the Assembly moved into Paris, 
some of the representatives of the third estate rented a large 
room in the monastery of the Jacobin monks, not far from the 
building where the National Assembly itself met. The aim of 
this society was to discuss questions which were about to come 
before the National Assembly. The club decided beforehand 
what should be the policy of its members and how they should 
vote ; and in this way they successfully combined to counteract 



The French Revohction 5 1 1 

* 

the schemes of the aristocratic party in the Assembly. The 
club rapidly grew and soon admitted some who were not depu- 
ties to its sessions. In October, 1791, it decided to permit 
the public to attend its discussions. 

Gradually similar societies were formed in the provinces. 1 
These affiliated themselves with the " mother " society at Paris 
and kept in constant communication with it. In this way the 
Jacobins of Paris stimulated and controlled public opinion 
throughout France, and kept the opponents of the old regime 
alert. When the Legislative Assembly met, the Jacobins had 
not as yet become republicans, but they believed that the king 
should have hardly more power than the president of a republic. 

The growing discord in the nation was increased by the severe The emigrant 
edicts that the Legislative Assembly directed against the emi- c iared traitors 
grant nobles and the non-juring clergy. " The Frenchmen as- 
sembled on the frontier" were declared under suspicion of 
conspiring against their country. If they did not return to 
France by January 1, 1792, they were to be regarded as con- 
victed traitors, to be punished, if caught, with death ; their 
property was to be confiscated. 

The harsh treatment of the emigrant nobles was perhaps jus- Harsh meas- 
tified by their desertion and treasonable intrigues ; but the con- Assembly 
duct of the Assembly toward the clergy was both unstatesmanlike tow ? rd . 

J & - 7 nonjunng 

and iniquitous. Those who had refused to take the oath to sup- clergy 
port the Civil Constitution of the Clergy were commanded to 
do so within a week on penalty of losing their income from the 
State and being watched as suspects. As this failed to bring the 
clergy to terms, the Assembly later (May, 1792) ordered the de- 
portation from the country of those who steadily persisted in 
their refusal. In this way the Assembly aroused the active hos- 
tility of a great part of the most conscientious among the lower 
clergy, who had loyally supported the commons in their fight 
against the privileged orders. It also lost the confidence of the 
great mass of faithful Catholics, — merchants, artisans, and 

1 By June, 1791, there were four hundred and six of these affiliated clubs. 



512 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Legis- 
lative 
Assembly 
precipitate 
a war with 
Europe 



peasants, — who had gladly accepted the abolition of the old 
abuses, but who would not consent to desert their religious 
leaders. 

By far the most important act of the Legislative Assembly 
during the one year of its existence was its starting a war be- 
tween France and Austria. It little dreamed that this was the 
beginning of a war between revolutionary France and the rest 
of western Europe w r hich was to last, with slight interruptions, 
for over twenty years. 

To many of the leaders in the Assembly it seemed that the 
existing conditions were intolerable. The emigrant nobles were 
forming little armies on the boundaries of France and had, as 
we have seen, induced Austria and Prussia to consider inter- 
fering in French affairs. The Assembly suspected that Louis 
was negotiating with foreign rulers and would be glad to have 
them intervene and reestablish him in his old despotic power. 
The deputies, argued, therefore, that a war against the hated 
Austria would unite the sympathies of the nation and force the 
king to show his true character ; for he would be obliged either 
to become the nation's leader or show himself the traitor they 
suspected him to be. 



Founding of the First French Republic 



France de- 
clares war 
upon Austria 
April, 1792 



The king 
suspected 
and his life 
threatened 



104. It was with a heavy heart that the king, urged on by the 
clamors of the Assembly, declared war upon Austria in April, 
1792. The unpopularity of the king only increased, however. 
He refused to ratify certain popular measures of the Assembly 
and dismissed the ministers who had been forced upon him by 
the Assembly. In June a mob of Parisians invaded the Palace 
of the Tuileries, and the king might have been killed had he 
not consented to don the " cap of liberty," the badge of the 
" citizen patriots." 

When France declared war, Prussia immediately allied itself 
with Austria. Both powers collected their forces and, to the 



The French Revolution 513 

great joy of the emigrant nobles, who joined them, prepared to Growth of 
march upon France. The early attempts of the French to get feeling *" 1 
a footing in the Austrian Netherlands were not successful, and 
the troops and people accused the nobles, who were in com- 
mand of the French troops, of treason. As the allies approached 
the boundaries it became clearer and clearer that the king was 
utterly incapable of defending France, and the Assembly began 
to consider the question of deposing him. The Duke of Bruns- 
wick, who was at the head of the Prussian forces, took the very 
worst means of helping the king, by issuing a manifesto in which 
he threatened utterly to destroy Paris should the king suffer 
any harm. 

Angered by this declaration and aroused by the danger, the insurrection 
populace of Paris again invaded the Tuileries, August 10, 1792, 1792 
and the king was obliged to take refuge in the building in which 
the Assembly was in session. Those who instigated the attack 
were men who had set their heart upon doing away with the 
king altogether and establishing a republic. A group of them 
had taken possession of the city hall, pushed the old members 
of the municipal council off from their seats, and taken the gov- 
ernment in their own hands. In this way the members of the 
Paris Commune became the leaders in the new revolution which 
established the first French republic. 

The Assembly agreed with the Commune in desiring a France pro- 
republic. If, as was proposed, France was henceforth to do republic a sep- 
without a king, it was obviously necessary that the monarchi- tembera2, 
cal constitution so recently completed should be replaced 
by a republican one. Consequently, the Assembly arranged 
that the people should elect delegates to a constitutional Con- 
vention, which should draw up a new system of government. 
The Convention met on September 21, and its first act was 
to abolish the ancient monarchy and proclaim France a re- 
public, 'it seemed to the enthusiasts of the time that a new 
era of liberty had dawned, now that the long oppression 
by " despots " was ended forever, The twenty-second day 



514 



Medieval and Modern Times 



September 
massacres, 
1792 



of September, 1792, was reckoned as the first day of the 

Year One of French liberty. 1 

Meanwhile the usurping Paris Commune had taken matters 

into its own hands and had brought discredit upon the cause of 

liberty by one of the most 
atrocious acts in history. 
On the pretext that Paris 
was full of traitors, who 
sympathized with the Aus- 
trians and the emigrant 
nobles, they had filled the 
prisons with some three 
thousand citizens. On 
September 2 and 3 hun- 
dreds of these were ex- 
ecuted with scarcely a 
pretense of a trial. The 
members of the Commune 
who perpetrated this deed 
probably hoped to terrify 
those who might still dream 
of returning to the old sys- 
tem of government. 

Late in August the Prus- 
sians crossed the French 
boundary and on Septem- 
ber 2 took the fortress of 
Verdun. It now seemed 
as if there was nothing 

to prevent their marching upon Paris. The French general, 




Fig. 



140. Louis XVI on the 
Roof of his Prison 



The prison to which the royal family 
was taken on August 13 was known 
as the Temple, because it had been 
part of the building of the Knights 
Templar in Paris. It was a gloomy 
tower with massive walls. It was torn 
down in 181 1 



1 A committee of the Convention was appointed to draw up a new republican 
calendar. The year was divided into twelve months of thirty days each. The 
five days preceding September 22, at the end of the year, were holidays. Each 
month was divided into three decades, and each " tenth day " {decadi) was a 
holiday. The days were no longer dedicated to saints, but to agricultural imple- 
ments, vegetables, domestic animals, etc. 



The French Revolution 515 

Dumouriez, blocked their advance, however, and without a Progress of 
pitched battle caused the enemy to retreat. Notwithstanding Austri^? 
the fears of the French, the king of Prussia had but little Prussia 
interest in the war; the Austrian troops were lagging far 
behind, and both powers were far more absorbed in a second 
partition of Poland, 1 which was approaching, than in the fate 
of the French king. The French now invaded Germany and 
took several important towns on the Rhine, including Mayence, 
which gladly opened its gates to them. They also occupied 
the Spanish Netherlands and Savoy. 

Meanwhile the new Convention was puzzled to determine Trial and 
what would best be done with the king. A considerable party of Ae king 
felt that he was guilty of treason in secretly encouraging the J anuar y> *793 
foreign powers to come to his aid. He was therefore brought 
to trial, and when it came to a final vote, he was, by a small 
majority, condemned to death. He mounted the scaffold on 
January 21, 1793, with the fortitude of a martyr. Nevertheless, 
one cannot but feel that through his earlier weakness and 
indecision he brought untold misery upon his own kingdom 
and upon Europe at large. The French people had not 
dreamed of a republic until his absolute incompetence forced 
them, in self-defense, to abolish the monarchy in the hope of 
securing a more efficient government. 2 

The exultation of the Convention over the conquests which The Conven- 
their armies were making, encouraged them to offer the assist- to°a\cTother eS 
ance of the new republic to any country that wished to establish ^ u ^ nes to 
its freedom by throwing off the yoke of monarchy. They even selves of 
proposed a republic to the English people. One of the French a rchs 
ministers declared, " We will hurl thither fifty thousand caps 
of liberty, we will plant there the sacred tree of liberty." France 
February 1, 1793, France greatly added to her embarrassments o^Englandj 
by declaring war on England, a country which proved her Februar y *> 
most inveterate enemy. 

1 See above, p. 418. 

2 For interesting documents on this, see Readings in Modern European 
History, Vol. I, pp. 295-309. 



5 i6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The allies 
settle their 
differences 
and renew 
the war 
against 
France 

French driven 
from the 
Netherlands ; 
desertion of 
Dumouriez 



The war now began to go against the French. The allies had 
hitherto been suspicious of one another and fearful lest Russia 
should take advantage of their preoccupation with France to 
seize more than her share of Poland. They now came to an 
agreement. 

The adjustment of the differences between the allies gave a 
wholly new aspect to the war with France. When in March, 
1793, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire joined the coalition, 
France was at war with all her neighbors. The Austrians de- 
feated Dumouriez at Neerwinden and drove the French out of 
the Netherlands. Thereupon Dumouriez, disgusted by the failure 
of the Convention to support him and by their execution of the 
king, deserted to the enemy with a few hundred soldiers who 
consented to follow him. 



The Reign of Terror 



French gov- 
ernment put 
in the hands 
of the Com- 
mittee of 
Public Safety, 
A P ril , J 793 



The Giron- 
dists 



105. The loss of the Netherlands and the treason of their 
best general made a deep impression upon the members of the 
Convention. If the new French Republic was to defend itself 
against the " tyrants " without and its many enemies within, it 
could not wait for the Convention to draw up an elaborate, 
permanent constitution. An efficient government must be 
devised immediately to maintain the loyalty of the nation to 
the Republic and to raise and equip armies and direct their com- 
manders. The Convention accordingly put the government 
into the hands of a small committee, consisting originally of 
nine, later of twelve, of its members. This famous Committee 
of Public Safety was given practically unlimited powers. " We 
must," one of the leaders exclaimed, " establish the despotism 
of liberty in order to crush the despotism of kings." 

Within the Convention itself there were two groups of active 
men who came into bitter conflict over the policy to be pursued. 
There was, first, the party of the Girondists, so called because 
their leaders came from the department of Gironde, in which 



The French Revolution 517 

the great city of Bordeaux lay. They were moderate republi- 
cans and counted among their numbers some speakers of re- 
markable eloquence. The Girondists had enjoyed the control 
of the Legislative Assembly in 1792 and had been active in 
bringing on the war with Austria and Prussia. They hoped 
in that way to complete the Revolution by exposing the bad 




Fig. 141. Maximilien Robespierre 

Robespierre was an honest, though narrow-minded, man. It was his 
intense love of liberty and equality that made him a dangerous fanatic. 
He sanctioned using terror to force upon France an ideal democracy, 
with the sad results that for a long time to come, Jacobinism and de- 
mocracy in France suffered from the memory of his acts 

faith of the king and his sympathy with the emigrant nobles. 
They were not, however, men of sufficient decision to direct 
affairs in the terrible difficulties in which France found herself 
after the execution of the king. They consequently lost their 
influence, and a new party, called the Mountain from the 
high seats that they occupied in the Convention, gained the 
ascendancy. 



5 i8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The extreme 
republicans, 
called the 
" Mountain " 



Girondist 
leaders ex- 
pelled from 
the Conven- 
tion, June 2, 
1793 



This was composed of the most vigorous and uncompromis- 
ing republicans. They believed that the French people had 
been depraved by the slavery to which their kings had subjected 
them. Everything, they argued, which suggested the former 
rule of kings must be wiped out. A new France should be 
created, in which liberty, equality, and fraternity should take the 
place of the tyranny of princes, the insolence of nobles, and 
the exactions of the priests. The leaders of the Mountain held 
that the mass of the people were by nature good and upright, 
but that there were a number of adherents of the old system 
who would, if they could, undo the great work of the Revolu- 
tion and lead the people back to slaver)', as formerly under 
the king. All who were suspected by the Mountain of having 
the least sympathy with the nobles or persecuted priests were 
branded as counter-revolutionary. The Mountain was willing 
to resort to any measures, however shocking, to rid the nation 
of those suspected of counter-revolutionary tendencies, and 
its leaders relied upon the populace of Paris, which had been 
disappointed that " liberty" had not bettered the hard conditions 
of life as it had hoped, to aid them in reaching their ends. 

The Girondists, on the other hand, abhorred the furious Paris 
mob and the cruel fanatics who composed the Commune of the 
capital. They argued that Paris was not France, and that it 
had no right to assume a despotic rule over the nation. They 
proposed that the Commune should be dissolved and that the 
Convention should remove to another town where they would 
not be subject to the intimidation of the Paris mob. The 
Mountain thereupon accused the Girondists of an attempt to 
break up the republic, " one and indivisible," by questioning the 
supremacy of Paris and the duty of the provinces to follow the 
lead of the capital. The mob, thus encouraged, rose against 
the Girondists. On June 2 it surrounded the meeting place of 
the Convention, and deputies of the Commune demanded the 
expulsion from the Convention of the Girondist leaders, who 
were placed under arrest. 



The French Revolution 519 

The conduct of the Mountain and its ally, the Paris Com- France 

, .... , threatened 

mune, now began to arouse opposition in various parts of w j t h c i vi i war 
France, and the country was threatened" with civil war at a 
time when it was absolutely necessary that all Frenchmen should 
combine in the loyal defense of their country against the in- 
vaders who were again approaching its boundaries. The first The revolt of 
and most serious opposition came from the peasants of Brittany, of e Bnttany S 
especially in the department of La Vendee. There the people against the 

r j ■ r r r Convention 

still loved the monarchy and their priests and even the nobles ; 
they refused to send their sons to fight for a republic which 
had killed their king and was persecuting the clergymen who 
cjeclined to take an oath which their conscience forbade. The 
Vendean royalists defeated several corps of the national guard 
which the Convention sent against them, and it was not until 
autumn that the distinguished general Kleber was able to put * 
down the insurrection. 

The great cities of Marseilles and Bordeaux were indignant Revolt of 
at the treatment to which the Girondist deputies were sub- against the 
jected in Paris, and organized a revolt against the Convention. 
In the manufacturing city of Lyons the merchants hated the 
Jacobins and their republic, since the demand for silk and 
other luxuries produced at Lyons had come from the nobility 
and clergy, who were now no longer in a position to buy. The 
prosperous classes were therefore exasperated when the commis- 
sioners of the Convention demanded money and troops. The 
citizens gathered an army of ten thousand men and placed it 
under a royalist leader. The Convention, however, called in 
troops from the armies on the frontier, bombarded and cap- 
tured the city, and wreaked a terrible vengeance upon those 
who had dared to revolt against the Mountain. Frightened by 
the experience of Lyons, Bordeaux and Marseilles decided that 
resistance was futile and admitted the troops of the Convention. 
The Convention's Committee of Public Safety showed itself far 
more efficient than the scattered and disunited opponents who 
questioned its right to govern France. 



Convention 



520 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The French 
repulse the 
English and 
Austrians 



While the Committee of Public Safety had been suppressing 
the revolts within the country, it had taken active measures to 
meet its foreign enemies. The distinguished military organizer, 
Carnot, had become a member of the committee in August and 
immediately called for a general levy of troops. He soon had 
seven hundred and fifty thousand men ; these he divided into 
thirteen armies and dispatched them against the allies. The 




Fig. 142. The Palace of Justice (Law Courts) in Paris 1 

English and Hanoverians, who were besieging Dunkirk, were 
driven off and the Austrians were defeated, so that by the 
close of the year 1793 all danger from invasion was past, for 
the time being at least. 



1 In the thirteenth century part of the royal palace on the island in the Seine 
was made over to the lawyers of the court, and it has remained ever since the 
seat of the chief law courts of France. The square clock tower at the corner, 
the round towers and the chapel (Sainte-Chapelle, just visible at the left), all 
date from the old palace — also the lower floor and cellar facing the river, 
made over into the prison of the Conciergerie. In it Marie* Antoinette and 
many other illustrious prisoners were kept when tried by the Revolutionary 
Tribunal. 



The French Revohttion 521 

In spite of the marvelous success with which the Committee The Reign 
of Public Safety had crushed its opponents at home and repelled 
the forces of the coalition, it continued its policy of stifling all 
opposition by terror. Even before the fall of the Girondists a 
special court had been established in Paris, known as the Revo- The Revo- 
lutionary Tribunal. Its duty was to try all those who were sus- Tribunal 
pected of treasonable acts. At first the cases were very carefully 
considered, and few persons were condemned. 

In September, after the revolt of the cities, two new men, who 
had been implicated in the September massacres, were added 
to the Committee of Public Safety. They were selected with 
the particular purpose of intimidating the counter-revolutionary 
party by bringing all the disaffected to the guillotine. 1 A ter- 
rible law was passed, declaring all those to be suspects who 
by their conduct or remarks had shown themselves enemies of 
liberty. The former nobles, including the wives, fathers, 
mothers, and children of the " emigrants," unless they had 
constantly manifested their attachment to the Revolution, were 
ordered to be imprisoned. 

In October the queen, Marie Antoinette, after a trial in Execution 
which false and atrocious charges were brought against her, 2 
was executed in Paris, and a number of high-minded and dis- 
tinguished persons suffered a like fate. But the most horrible 
acts of the Reign of Terror were perpetrated in the prov- 
inces where deputies of the Committee of Public Safety were 
sent with almost absolute military power to crush rebellions. 
A representative of the Convention had thousands of the 
people of Nantes shot down or drowned. The Convention 
proposed to destroy the great city of Lyons altogether, and, 

1 In former times it had been customary to inflict capital punishment by de- 
capitating the victim with the sword. At the opening of the Revolution a certain 
Dr. Guillotin recommended a new device, which consisted of a heavy knife slid- 
ing downward between two uprights. This instrument, called, after him, the 
guillotine, which is still used in France, was more speedy and certain in its action 
than the sword in the hands of the executioner. 

2 She had, like the king, been guilty of encouraging the enemies of France 
to intervene. 



of Marie 
Antoinette, 
October, 1793 



522 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Schism in the 
party of the 
Mountain 



Robespierre 
as dictator 



Fall of 
Robespierre, 
July 27, 1794 



though this decree was only partially carried out, thousands 
of its citizens were executed. 1 

Soon the radical party which was conducting the government 
began to disagree among themselves. Dan ton, a man of fiery 
zeal for the republic, who had hitherto enjoyed great popularity 
with the Jacobins, became tired of bloodshed and believed that 
the system of terror was no longer necessary. On the other 
hand, Hebert, the leader of the Commune, felt that the revolu- 
tion was not yet complete. He proposed, for example, that the 
worship of Reason should be substituted for the worship of 
God, and arranged a service in the great church of Notre 
Dame, where Reason, in the person of a handsome actress, 
took her place on the altar. The most powerful member of the 
Committee of Public Safety was Robespierre, who, although 
he was insignificant in person and a tiresome speaker, enjoyed 
a great reputation for republican virtue. He disapproved alike 
of Danton's moderation and of the worship of Reason advo- 
cated by the Commune. Through his influence the leaders of 
both the moderate and the extreme party were arrested and 
executed (March and April, 1794). 

It was, of course, impossible for Robespierre to maintain 
his dictatorship for long. When he had the Revolutionary Tri- 
bunal divided into sections and greatly increased the rapidity 
of the executions with a view of destroying all his enemies, 
his colleagues in the Convention began to fear that he would 
demand their heads next. A coalition was formed against him, 
and the Convention ordered his arrest. 2 He called upon the 
Commune to defend him, but the Convention roused Paris 



1 It should not be forgotten that very few of the people at Paris stood in any 
fear of the guillotine. The city during the Reign of Terror was not the gloomy 
place that we might imagine. Never did the inhabitants appear happier, never 
were the theaters and restaurants more crowded. The guillotine was making 
away with the enemies of liberty, so the women wore tiny guillotines as ornaments, 
and the children were given toy guillotines and amused themselves decapitating 
the figures of " aristocrats." 

2 The date of Robespierre's fall is generally known as the Ninth of Ther- 
midor, the day and month of the republican calendar. 



The French Revolution 523 

against the Commune, which was no longer powerful enough 
to intimidate the whole city, and he and his supporters were 
sent to the guillotine. 

In successfully overthrowing Robespierre, the Convention 
and Committee of Public Safety had rid the country of the 




Fig. 143. D anton 

Danton was in favor of a policy of terror only so long as France was 
really in peril. He thought that the Terror was necessary in order to 
suppress rebellion and conspiracies ; but when he tried to stop it, 
Robespierre's party claimed that he had himself turned traitor to the 
Jacobin ideal, since that was not yet attained 

only man, who, owing to his popularity and his reputation for Reaction 
uprightness, could have prolonged the Reign of Terror. There overthrow of 
was an immediate reaction after his death, for the country was Ro° es P ierre 
weary of executions. The Revolutionary Tribunal henceforth 
convicted very few indeed of those who were brought before it. 
Indeed, it turned upon those who had themselves been the 



524 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Constitution 
of the 
Year Three 



The dissolu- 
tion of the 
Convention, 
October, 1 795: 
its achieve- 
ments 



leaders in the worst atrocities, for example, as the public prose- 
cutor, who had brought hundreds of victims to the guillotine in 
Paris, and the brutes who had ordered the massacres at Nantes 
and Lyons. Within a few months the Jacobin Club at Paris 
was closed by the Convention, and the Commune abolished. 

The Convention now at last turned its attention to the great 
work for which it had originally been summoned, and drew 
up a constitution for the republic. This provided that the law- 
making power should be vested in a legislative assembly con- 
sisting of two houses. The lower house was called the Council of 
the Five Hundred, and the upper chamber the Council of the 
Elders. Members of the latter were required to be at least forty 
years of age. The executive powers were put in the hands of a 
Directory of five persons, to be chosen by the two chambers. 

In October, 1795, the Convention finally dissolved itself, 
having governed the country during three years of unprece- 
dented excitement, danger, and disorder. While it was respon- 
sible for the horrors of the Reign of Terror, its committees had 
carried France through the terrible crisis of 1793. The civil 
war had been brought to a speedy end, and the coalition of for- 
eign powers had been defeated. Meanwhile other committees 
appointed by the Convention had been quietly working upon 
the problem of bettering the system of education, which had 
been taken by the State out of the hands of the clergy. Progress 
had also been made toward establishing a single system of law 
for the whole country to replace the old confusion. The new 
republican calendar was not destined to survive many years, but 
the metric system of weights and measures introduced by the 
Convention has now been adopted by most European countries, 
and is used by men of science in England and America. 

On the other hand, the Reign of Terror, the depreciated 
paper currency, 1 and many hasty and unwise laws passed by 



1 See above, p. 505. There were about forty billions of francs in assignats in 
circulation at the opening of 1796. At that time it required nearly three hundred 
francs in paper money to procure one in specie, 



The French Revolution 5 2 5 

the Convention had produced all sorts of disorder and uncer- 
tainty. The Directory did little to better conditions, and it 
was not until Napoleon's strong hand grasped the helm of 
government in the year 1800 that order was really restored. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 100. What were Calonne's plans, and why did they fail? 
How did the Estates General come to be summoned in 1789? What 
were the chief questions raised in regard to their organization ? What 
were the cahiers, and upon what main points did they agree? By 
what process did the Estates General turn into a national assembly? 

Section 10 i. What were the causes and results of the attack on 
the Bastille ? What does the word " commune " mean ? What were 
the chief provisions of the decree abolishing the feudal system? 
Give an account of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Why 
were these decrees drawn up? 

Section 102. Under what conditions was the National Assembly 
moved to Paris ? What were the reforms made in the organization 
of the French Church ? What immediate results did they have on the 
course of the Revolution ? 

Section 103. Who were the emigrant nobles,' and what was their 
plan ? What were the results of the king's attempted flight in June, 
1 791? What was the Declaration of Pillnitz? Who were the 
Jacobins? What various kinds of matter do we find in a modern 
newspaper ? What measures were taken against the emigrant nobles 
and the nonjuring clergy? Why did the Legislative Assembly declare 
war on Austria? Why did Prussia enter the war? 

Section 104. How was the First French Republic established? 
Do you see any good reasons for the execution of Louis XVI? 
Why did France declare war on England? With what European 
powers was France at war by the spring of 1 793 ? 

Section 105. What was the need of a Committee of Public 
Safety? Who were the Girondists? the Mountain? What led to 
civil war in France, and what was the outcome of it ? What do you 
understand by the Reign of Terror ? Can you give any justification 
of the harsh measures taken by the Convention and its committees? 
What were Robespierre's views? What were the reasons for his 
fall? Describe the constitution of the Year Three. Review the 
chief acts of the Convention. 



CHAPTER XXV 



EUROPE AND NAPOLEON 



General Bonaparte 



The Napo- 
leonic period 



Napoleon 
Bonaparte 
(b. 1 769), a 
Corsican by 
birth, an 
Italian by 
descent 



The young 
Bonaparte in 
a French 
military 
school 



106. The aristocratic military leaders of Old France had 
either run away or been discredited along with the noble class 
to which they belonged. Among the commanders who, through 
exceptional ability, arose in their stead, one was soon to dom- 
inate the history of Europe as no man before him had ever 
done. For fifteen years his biography and the political his- 
tory of Europe are so nearly synonymous that the period that 
we are now entering upon may properly be called after him, 
the Napoleonic Period. 

Napoleon Bonaparte was hardly a Frenchman in origin. It is 
true that the island of Corsica, where he was born August 15, 
1 769, had at that time belonged to France for a year. But Napo- 
leon's native language was Italian, he was descended from Italian 
ancestors who had come to the island in the sixteenth century, 
and his career revives, on a magnificent scale, the ambitions 
and the policy of a co?idottiere despot of the fifteenth century. 1 

When he was ten years old he was taken to France by his 
father. After learning a little of the French language, which 
he is said never to have mastered perfectly, he was put into a 
military school, where he remained for six years. He soon 
came to hate the young French aristocrats with whom he was 
associated. He wrote to his father, "I am tired of exposing 
my poverty and seeing these shameless boys laughing over it, 
who are superior to me only in their wealth, but infinitely 

1 See above, pp. 226. 
526 



Europe and Napoleon 527 

t 

beneath me in noble sentiments." Gradually the ambition to 

free his little island country from French control developed 

in him. 

On completing his course in the military school he was made His political 
second lieutenant. Poor and without influence, he had little corSca S ' 
hope of any considerable advance in the French army, and he 
was drawn to his own country by a desire both to play a politi- 
cal role there and to help his family, which had been left in 
straitened circumstances by his father's death. He therefore 
absented himself from his command as often and as long as 
he could, and engaged in a series of intrigues in Corsica with The Bona- 
a hope of getting control of the forces of the island. He fell banished 
out, however, with the authorities, and he and his family were from Corsica > 
banished in 1793 and fled to France. 

The following three years were for Bonaparte a period of Napoleon 
great uncertainty. He had lost his love for Corsica and as mandeTin" 
yet he had no foothold in France. He managed, however, to chief oi . the 

J ° ' army of 

demonstrate his military skill and decision on two occasions Italy, 1796 
and gained thereby the friendship of the Directory. In the 
spring of 1796 he was made by the Directory commander in 
chief of the army of Italy. This important appointment at 
the age of twenty-seven forms the opening of a military career 
which in extent and grandeur hardly finds a parallel in history, 
except that of Alexander the Great. And of all Bonaparte's 
campaigns, none is more interesting perhaps than his first, 
that in Italy in 1 796-1 797. 

After the armies raised by the Committee of Public Safety Prussia and 
had driven back their enemies in the autumn of 1793, the elude peace 
French occupied the Austrian Netherlands, Holland, and that ™ ith * e 

1 French 

portion of Germany which lies on the left, or west, bank of the republic, 1795 

Rhine. Austria and Prussia were again busy with a new, and 

this time final, partition of Poland. As Prussia had little real 

interest in the war with France, she soon concluded peace with 

the new republic, April, 1795. Spain followed her example and 

left Austria, England, and the kingdom of Sardinia to carry on 



528 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The cam- 
paign in 
Italy, 
i 796-1 797 



The treaty 
of Campo- 
Formio, 1797 



Creation 
of the 
Cisalpine 
republic 



the war. General Bonaparte had to face the combined armies 
of Austria and of the king of Sardinia. By marching north 
from Savona he skillfully separated his two enemies, forced the 
Sardinian troops back toward their capital, Turin, and com- 
pelled the king of Sardinia to conclude a truce with France. 1 

This left him free to advance against the Austrians. These 
he outflanked and forced to retreat. On May 15, 1796, he 
entered Milan. The Austrian commander then shut himself up 
in the impregnable fortress of Mantua, where Bonaparte promptly 
besieged him. There is no more fascinating chapter in the his- 
tory of warfare than the story of the audacious maneuvers by 
which Bonaparte successfully repulsed four attempts on the part 
of the Austrians to relieve Mantua, which was finally forced to 
capitulate at the beginning of February of the following year. 
As soon as he had removed all danger of an attack in the rear, 
the young French general led his army to within a hundred 
miles of Vienna, and by April, 1797, the Austrian court was 
glad to sign a preliminary peace. 

The provisions of the definitive peace, which was concluded 
at Campo-Formio October 17, 1797, illustrate the unscrupulous 
manner in which Austria and the French Republic disposed of 
the helpless lesser states. It inaugurated the bewilderingly rapid 
territorial redistribution of Europe, which was so characteristic 
of the Napoleonic Period. Austria ceded to France the Austrian 
Netherlands and secretly agreed to use its good offices to secure 
for France a great part of the left bank of the Rhine. Austria 
also recognized the Cisalpine republic which Bonaparte had 
created out of the smaller states of northern Italy, and which 
was under the " protection " of France. This new state included 
Milan, Modena, some of the papal dominions, and, lastly, a part 
of the possessions of the venerable and renowned but defenseless 



1 The island of Sardinia had in 1720 been given to the Duke of Savoy, who 
was also ruler of Piedmont. The duke thereupon assumed the title King of 
Sardinia, but Piedmont with its capital remained the most important part of the 
kingdom of Sardinia. 



Europe and Napoleon 



529 



republic of Venice, which Napoleon had iniquitously destroyed. 
Austria received as a partial indemnity the rest of the posses- 
sions of the Venetian republic, including Venice itself. 

While the negotiations were going on at Campo-Formio, the 
young general had established a brilliant court. " His salons," 




Central Europe, to illustrate Napoleon's Campaigns, 
1 796-1 80 1 



an observer informs us, " were filled with a throng of generals, General 
officials, and purveyors, as well as the highest nobility and the holds P court 
most distinguished men of Italy, who came to solicit the favor 
of a glance or a moment's conversation." He appears already 
to have conceived the role that he was to play later. We have 



53o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Bonaparte's 
idea of the 
French char- 
acter and his 



Personal 
character- 
istics 



Sources of 
power in 
Napoleon's 
character 



a report of a most extraordinary conversation which occurred 
at this time. 

" What I have done so far," he declared, " is nothing. I am 
but at the opening of the career that I am to run. Do you sup- 
pose that I have gained my victories in Italy in order to advance 
the lawyers of the Directory ? . . . Do you think either that my 
object is to establish a republic ? What a notion ! . . . What 
the French want is glory and the satisfaction of their vanity ; 
. . . Let the Directory attempt to deprive me of my command 
and they will see who is the master. The nation must have a 
head, a head who is rendered illustrious by glory and not by 
theories of government, fine phrases, or the talk of idealists." 
There is no doubt whom General Bonaparte had in mind when 
he spoke of the needed head of the French nation who should 
be " rendered illustrious by glory." This son of a poor Corsican 
noble, but yesterday a mere unlucky adventurer, had arranged 
his program ; two years and a half later, at the age of thirty, 
he was the master of the French Republic. 

Bonaparte was a short man, at this time extremely thin, but 
his striking features, quick, searching eye, abrupt, animated 
gestures and rapid speech, incorrect as it was, made a deep 
impression upon those who came in contact with him. He 
possessed in a supreme degree two qualities that are ordinarily 
incompatible. He was a dreamer, and at the same time a 
man whose practical skill and mastery of detail amounted to 
genius. He once told a friend that he was wont, when a poor 
lieutenant, to allow his imagination full play and fancy things 
just as he would have them. Then he would coolly consider 
the exact steps to be taken if he were to try to make his dream 
come true. At the age of twenty-eight he had become the 
chief general of France ; at that of thirty he was to become 
master of the country. 

In order to explain Bonaparte's success it must be remem- 
bered that he was not hampered or held back by the fear of 
doing wrong. He was utterly unscrupulous, whether dealing 



Europe and Napoleon 531 

with an individual or a nation, and appears to have been abso- 
lutely without any sense of moral responsibility. Affection for 
his friends and relatives never stood in the way of his personal 
aggrandizement. To these traits must be added unrivaled mili- 
tary genius and the power of intense and almost uninter- 
rupted work. 

But even Bonaparte, unexampled as were his abilities, could The political 
never have extended his power over all of western Europe, had w hkh 
it not been for the peculiar political weakness of most of the ^a^eon's 
states with which he had to deal. There was no strong German wonderful 

. • 1 t-» • • successes 

empire in his day, no mighty Prussian army ; Austria was possible 
already humbled, and its defeat had opened Italy to the French. 
In short, the French Republic was surrounded by small states 
almost defenseless against an unscrupulous invader. 

How Bonaparte made himself Master of France 

107. After arranging the Peace of Campo-Formio, General Napoleon 
Bonaparte returned to Paris. He at once perceived that France, ideaofan 
in spite of her enthusiasm for him, was not yet ready to accept gP edltl0n t0 
him as her ruler. He saw, too, that he would soon sacrifice his 
prestige if he lived quietly in Paris like an ordinary person. His 
active mind soon conceived a plan which would forward his in- 
terests. France was still at war with England, its most perse- 
vering enemy during this period. Bonaparte convinced the 
Directory that England could best be ruined in the long run 
by seizing Egypt and threatening her commerce through the 
Mediterranean, and perhaps ultimately her dominion in India. 

* The expedition to Egypt did not establish a new empire, but it led to the 
opening up of thousands of years of ancient history. A band of French scholars 
accompanied the army and started collecting the remains of monuments and 
tombs. In the picture the artist has imagined Napoleon by the cemetery at the 
Pyramids, watching the investigators at work. 

The tombs were covered with hieroglyphs which no one could read ; but in 
the spoil collected — and captured by Nelson so that it is now in the British 
Museum — was a stone with both Greek text and hieroglyphs, which a French 
scholar used, a few years later, as a key to unlock the literature of ancient Egypt. 
See Robinson and Breasted, Outlines of European History, Part I, chap. ii. 



532 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The cam- 
paign, in 
Egypt, 
1798-1799 



Nelson 
destroys the 
French fleet 



Syrian 
campaign 



MEDITERRANEAN 
SEA 



Bonaparte, fascinated by the career of Alexander the Great, 
pictured himself riding to India on the back of an elephant 
and dispossessing England of her most precious colonial de- 
pendencies. He had, however, still another, and a characteristic, 
reason for undertaking the expedition. France was on the eve 
of a new war with the European powers. Bonaparte foresaw 
that, if he could withdraw with him some of France's best offi- 
cers, the Directory might soon find itself so embarrassed that 
he could return as a national savior. And even so it fell out. 

The French fleet 
left Toulon May 19, 
1798. It was so for- 
tunate as to escape 
the English squad- 
ron under Nelson, 
which sailed by it 
in the night. Bona- 
parte arrived at Alex- 
andria July 1, and 
easily defeated the 
Turkish troops in 
the famous battle of 
the Pyramids, near 
Cairo. Meanwhile 
Nelson, who did not 
know the destination of the enemy's fleet, had returned from the 
Syrian coast, where he had looked for the French in vain. He dis- 
covered Bonaparte's ships in the harbor of Alexandria and an- 
nihilated them in the first battle of the Nile (August 1, 1798). 
The French troops were now completely cut off from Europe. 
The Porte (that is, the Turkish government) declared war 
against France, and Bonaparte resolved to attack Turkey by land. 
He accordingly marched into Syria in the spring of 1799, but was 
repulsed at Acre, where the Turkish forces were aided by the 
English fleet. Pursued by pestilence, the army regained Cairo 




Egyptian Campaign 



Europe and Napoleon 533 

in June, after terrible suffering and loss. It was still strong enough Bonaparte 
to annihilate a Turkish army that landed at Alexandria ; but army in 
news now reached Bonaparte from Europe which convinced him E&yP* and 

r r returns to 

that the time had come for him to hasten back. Northern Paris 
Italy, which he had won, was lost ; the allies were in arms again 
and were about to invade France, and the Directory was com- 
pletely demoralized. Bonaparte accordingly secretly deserted his 
army and managed, by a series of happy accidents, to reach 
France with a few of his best officers by October 9, 1799. 

The Directory, one of the most corrupt and inefficient gov- The coup 
ernmental bodies that the world has ever seen, had completely the^sth 
disgraced itself. Bonaparte readily found others to join with P T rumai p' 

° r j j November 9, 

him in a conspiracy to overthrow it. A plan was formed for 1799 
abruptly destroying the old government and replacing it by a 
new one. This is a procedure so familiar in France during the 
past century that it is known even in English as a coup d'etat 
(literally translated, a " stroke of state "). The conspirators had 
a good many friends in the two assemblies, especially among 
the " Elders." 1 Nevertheless, Bonaparte had to order his sol- 
diers to invade the hall in which the Assembly of the Five Hun- 
dred was in session and scatter his opponents before he could 
accomplish his purpose. A chosen few were then reassembled 
under the presidency of Lucien Bonaparte, one of Napoleon's 
brothers, who was a member of the assembly. They voted to 
put the government in the hands of General Bonaparte and two 
others, to be called Consuls. These were to proceed, with the Bonaparte 
aid of a commission and of the " Elders," to draw up a new consul"*' 
constitution. 

The new constitution was a very cumbrous and elaborate The consti- 
one. It provided for no less than four assemblies, one to pro- Yea^Eight 6 
pose the laws, one to consider them, one to vote upon them, 
and one to decide on their constitutionality. But Bonaparte saw 
to it that as First Consul he himself had practically all the power 
in his own hands. 

1 See above, p. 524. 



534 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The adminis- 
trative 
system insti- 
tuted by 
Napoleon 



The new 
government 
accepted by ; 
plebiscite 



Bonaparte 
generally 
acceptable 
to France as 
First Consul 



In each department he put an officer called 2ip7'efed, in each 
subdivision of the department a subprefect. These, together with 
the mayors and police commissioners of the towns, were all 
appointed by the First Consul. The prefects, " little First Con- 
suls," as Bonaparte called them, resembled the intendants — the 
king's officers under the old re'gime. Indeed, the new govern- 
ment suggested in several important respects that of Louis XIV. 

The new ruler objected as decidedly as Louis XIV had done 
to the idea of being controlled by the people, who, he believed, 
knew nothing of public affairs. It was enough, he thought, 
if they were allowed to say whether they wished a certain form 
of government or not. He therefore introduced what he called 
a plebiscite. The new constitution when completed was sub- 
mitted to the nation at large, and all were allowed to vote 
"yes" or "no" on the expediency of its adoption. Over 
three million voted in favor of it and only fifteen hundred and 
sixty-two against it. This did not necessarily mean, however, 
that practically the whole nation wished to have General Bona- 
parte as its ruler. A great many may have preferred what 
seemed to them an objectionable form of government to the 
risk of rejecting it. Herein lies the injustice of the plebiscite. 
There are many questions that cannot be answered by a simple 
"yes" or " no." 

Yet the accession of the popular young general to power was 
undoubtedly grateful to the majority of citizens, who longed 
above all for a stable government. The Swedish envoy wrote 
just after the coup d'etat-. "A legitimate monarch has perhaps 
never found a people more ready to do his bidding than Bona- 
parte, and it would be inexcusable if this talented general did not 
take advantage of this to introduce a better form of government 
upon a firmer basis. It is literally true that France will perform 
impossibilities in order to aid him in this. The people (with the 
exception of a despicable horde of anarchists) are so sick and 
weary of revolutionary horrors and folly that they believe that 
any change cannot fail to be for the better. . , . Even the 



Europe and Napoleon 535 

royalists, whatever their views may be, are sincerely devoted to 
Bonaparte, for they- attribute to him the intention of gradually 
restoring the old order of things. The indifferent element cling 
to him as the one most likely to give France peace. The en- 
lightened republicans, although they tremble for their form of 
government, prefer to see a single man of talent possess himself 
of the power than a club of intriguers." 

Upon becoming First Consul, General Bonaparte found Necessity of 
France at war with England, Russia, Austria, Turkey, and the war 
Naples. These powers had formed a coalition in December, 
1798, had defeated the armies that the Directory sent against 
them, and undone Bonaparte's work in Italy. It now devolved 
upon him to reestablish the prestige of France abroad, as well 
as to restore order and prosperity at home. Besides, he must 
keep himself before the people as a military hero if he wished 
to maintain his supremacy. 

How Bonaparte secured Peace in 1801 and 

REORGANIZED GERMANY 

108. Early in the year 1800 Bonaparte began secretly to col- Napoleon 
lect an army near Dijon. This he proposed to direct against AlpTand & 
an Austrian army which was besieging the French in Genoa, ^rp 1 " 1565 the 
Instead of marching straight into Italy, as would have been 
most natural, the First Consul resolved to take the Austrian 
forces in the rear. Emulating Hannibal, he led his troops over 
the famous Alpine pass of the Great St. Bernard, dragging his 
cannon over in the trunks of trees which had been hollowed 
out for the purpose. He arrived safely in Milan on the second 
of June to the utter astonishment of the Austrians, who were 
taken completely by surprise. 

Bonaparte now moved westward and defeated the Austrians The battle of 
in the famous battle of Marengo (June 14), and added one more june^isoo 
to the list of his great military successes. A truce was signed 
next day, and the Austrians retreated behind the Mincio River, 



536 



Medieval and Modern Times 



leaving Bonaparte to restore French influence in Lombardy. 
The districts that he had " freed" had to support his army, 
and the reestablished Cisalpine republic was forced to pay a 
monthly tax of two million francs. 

A second victory gained by the French in December of the 
same year brought Austria to terms, and she agreed to con- 
clude a separate peace with the French Republic. This was the 
beginning of a general pacification. During the year 1801 
treaties were signed with all the powers with which France 
had been at war, even with England, who had not laid down 
her arms since war was first declared in 1793. 

Among many merely transitory results of these treaties there 
were two provisions of momentous import. The first of these, 
Spain's cession of Louisiana to France in exchange for certain 
advantages in Italy, does not concern us here directly. When 
war again broke out, Bonaparte sold the district to the United 
States, and among the many transfers of territory that he made 
during his reign, none was more important than this. We must, 
however, treat with some detail the second of the great changes, 
which led to the complete reorganization of Germany and 
ultimately rendered possible the establishment of the present 
powerful German Empire. 

In the treaty signed by Austria at Lune'ville in February, 
1 80 1, the emperor agreed, on his own part and on the part of 
the Holy Roman Empire, that the French Republic should 
thereafter possess in full sovereignty the territories lying on 
the left bank of the Rhine which belonged to the Holy Roman 
Empire, and that thereafter the Rhine should form the boundary 
of France from the point where it left Switzerland to where it 
flowed into Dutch territory. As a natural consequence of this 
cession, various princes and states of the empire found them- 
selves dispossessed, either wholly or in part, of their lands. The 
empire bound itself to furnish the hereditary princes who had 
lost possessions on the left bank of the Rhine with " an in- 
demnity within the empire." 



Europe and Napoleon 537 

This provision implied a veritable transformation of the old Seculariza- 
Holy Roman Empire, which, except for the development of church lands 
Prussia, was still in pretty much the same condition as in 
Luther's time. 1 There was no unoccupied land to give the dis- 
possessed princes; but there were two classes of states in the 
empire that did not belong to hereditary princes ; namely, the 
ecclesiastical states and the free towns. As, the churchmen, — 
archbishops, bishops, and abbots, — who ruled over the ecclesi- 
astical states, were forbidden by the rules of the Church to 
marry, they could of course have no lawful heirs. Should an 
ecclesiastical ruler be deprived of his realms, he might, there- 
fore, be indemnified by a pension for life, with no fear of any 
injustice to heirs, since there could be none. The transfer of 
the lands of an ecclesiastical prince to a lay, that is, hereditary, 
prince was called secularization. The towns, once so powerful 
and important, had lost their former influence and seemed as 
much of an anomaly in the German Confederation as the 
ecclesiastical states. 

Reichsdeputationshattptschhiss was the high-sounding German Decree of the 
name of the great decree issued by the imperial diet in 1803, r edistribut- 
redistributing the territory so as to indemnify the hereditary jng German 
princes dispossessed by the cession of the left bank of the Rhine 1803 
to France. All the ecclesiastical states, except the electorate 
of Mayence, were turned over to lay rulers. Of the forty- 
eight imperial cities, only six were left. Three of these still Disappear- 
exist as republican members of the present German federa- Imperial 
tion ; namely, the Hanseatic towns — Hamburg, Bremen, and Clties 
Liibeck. Bavaria received the bishoprics of Wiirzburg, Bam- 
berg, Augsburg, Freising, and a number of the imperial cities. 
Baden received the bishoprics of Constance, Basel, Speyer, etc. 
The knights who had lost their possessions on the left bank Fate of the 
were not indemnified, and those on the right bank were nig 
deprived of their political rights within the next, two or three 
years, by the several states within whose boundaries they lay. 

1 See above, p. 280. 



538 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Importance 
of the ex- 
tinction of 
the smaller 
German 
states 



Extension 
of French 
territory 



French 
dependencies 



The final distribution was preceded by a bitter and undigni- 
fied scramble among the princes for additional bits of terri- 
tory. All turned to Paris for favors, since the First Consul, 
and not the German diet, was really the arbiter in the matter. 
Germany never sank to a lower degree of national degradation 
than at this period. But this amalgamation was, nevertheless, 
the beginning of her political regeneration ; for without the 
consolidation of the hundreds of practically independent little 
states into a few well-organized monarchies, such a union as 
the present German Empire would have been impossible, and 
the country must have remained indefinitely in its traditional 
impotency. Thus Germany owes to a French ruler, not to any 
of its emperors or to Prussia, the first measures which resulted 
in the German Empire of to-day ! 

The treaties of 1801 left France in possession of the 
Austrian Netherlands and the left bank of the Rhine, to which 
increase of territory Piedmont was soon added. Bonaparte 
found a further resource in the dependencies, which it was his 
consistent policy to create. Holland became the Batavian re- 
public, and, with the Italian (originally the Cisalpine) republic, 
came under French control and contributed money and troops 
for the forwarding of French interests. The constitution of 
Switzerland was improved in the interests of the First Consul 
and, incidentally, to the great advantage of the country itself. 



Bonaparte restores Order and Prosperity 
in France 



The demor- 
alized con- 
dition of 
France, and 
Bonaparte's 
reforms 



109. The activity of the extraordinary man who had placed 
himself at the head of the French republic was by no means 
confined to the important alterations of the map of Europe 
described in the previous chapter. He was indefatigable in 
carrying out a series of internal reforms, second only in impor- 
tance to those of the great Revolution of 1789. The Reign of 
Terror and the incompetence of the Directory's government 



Europe and Napoleon 5 39 

had left France in a very bad plight. 1 Bonaparte's reorgani- 
zation of the government has already been noticed. The 
finances were in a terrible condition. These the First Consul 
adjusted with great skill, quickly restored the national credit, 
and established the Bank of France. 

He then set about settling the great problem of the non- The adjust- 
juring clergy, w T ho were still under suspicion for refusing to tionswith 
sanction the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. 2 Under the slack *| cw^ 
rule of the Directory persecution had ceased and priests were 
again officiating in thousands of parishes. Their churches were 
now formally given back to them. All imprisoned priests 
were now freed, on promising not to oppose the constitution. 
Their churches were given back to them, and the distinction 
between " nonjuring " and " constitutional " clergymen w T as 
obliterated. Sunday, which had been abolished by the repub- 
lican calendar, was once more observed, and all the revolu- 
tionary holidays, except July 14 — the anniversary of the fall 
of the Bastille — and the first day of the republican year, were 
done away with. A formal treaty with the Pope, the Concordat The Concor- 
of 1 80 1, was concluded, which revoked some of the provisions 
of the Civil Constitution, especially the election of the priests 
and bishops by the people, and recognized the Pope as the head 
of the Church. It is noteworthy, however, that Bonaparte did 
not restore to the Church its ancient possessions and that he 
reserved to himself the right to appoint the bishops, as the 
former kings had done. 

As for the emigrant nobles, Bonaparte decreed that no more The emigrant 
names should be added to the lists. The striking of names m itted to 
from the list and the return of confiscated lands that had not return 
already been sold, he made favors to be granted by himself. 
Parents and relatives of emigrants were no longer to be 

1 The roads were dilapidated and the harbors filled with sand ; taxes were 
unpaid, robbery prevailed, and there was a general decay in industry. A manu- . 
facturer in Paris who had employed from sixty to eighty workmen now had 
but ten. The lace, paper, and linen industries were as good as destroyed. 

2 See above, p. 524. 



54Q 



Medieval mid Modem Times 



Old habits 
resumed 



The grateful 
reliance of 
the nation on 
Bonaparte 



The Code 
Napoleon 



regarded as incapable of holding public offices. In April, 
1802, a general amnesty was issued, and no less than forty 
thousand families returned to France. 

There was a gradual reaction from the fantastic innovations 
of the Reign of Terror. The old titles of address, " Monsieur " 
and " Madame," were again used instead of the revolutionary 
"Citizen." Streets which had been rebaptized with republican 
names resumed their former ones. Old titles of nobility were 
revived, and something very like a royal court began to develop 
at the Palace of the Tuilleries ; for, except in name, Bonaparte 
was already a king, and his wife, Josephine, a queen. It had 
been clear for some years that the nation was weary of political 
agitation. How great a blessing after the anarchy of the past 
to put all responsibility upon one who showed himself capable 
of concluding a long war with unprecedented glory for France 
and of reestablishing order and the security of person and 
property, the necessary conditions for renewed prosperity ! 
How natural that the French should welcome a despotism to 
which they had been accustomed for centuries, after suffering 
as they had under nominally republican institutions ! 

One of the greatest and most permanent of Bonaparte's 
achievements still remains to be noted. The heterogeneous 
laws of the old regime had been much modified by the legislation 
of the successive assemblies. All this needed a final revision, 
and Bonaparte appointed a commission to undertake this great 
task. Their draft of the new code was discussed in the Council 
of State, and the First Consul had many suggestions to make. 
The resulting codification of the civil law — the Code Napoleon 
— is still used to-day, not only in France but also, with some 
modifications, in Rhenish Prussia, Bavaria, Baden, Holland, 
Belgium, Italy, and even in the state of Louisiana. The crim- 
inal and commercial law was also codified. These codes car- 
ried with them into foreign lands the principles of equality 
upon which they were based, and thus diffused the benefits of 
the Revolution beyond the borders of France. 



Europe and Napoleon 541 

Bonaparte was able gradually to modify the constitution so Napoleon 
that his power became more and more absolute. In 1802 he for life 1802- 
was appointed consul for life and given the right to name his ^ emperor, 
successor. . Even this did not satisfy his insatiable ambition, 
which demanded that his actual power should be clothed with 
all the attributes and surroundings appropriate to an hereditary 
ruler. In May, 1804, he was accordingly given the title of 
" Emperor," and (in December) crowned, as the successor of 
Charlemagne, with great pomp in the cathedral of Notre Dame. 
He at once proceeded to establish a new nobility to take the 
place of that abolished by the first National Assembly in 1790. 

From this time on he became increasingly tyrannical and Napoleon's 
hostile to criticism. At the very beginning of his administra- the press 
tion he had suppressed a great part of the numerous political 
newspapers and forbidden the establishment of new ones. As 
emperor he showed himself still more exacting. His police 
furnished the news to the papers and carefully omitted all 
that might offend their suspicious master. He ordered the 
journals to " put in quarantine all news that might be dis- 
advantageous or disagreeable to France." His ideal was to 
suppress all newspapers but one, which should be used for 
official purposes. 



How Napoleon destroyed the Holy 
Roman Empire 

no. A great majority of the French undoubtedly longed for Napoleon on 
peace, but Napoleon's position made war a personal necessity of^arToT Y 
for him. No one saw this more clearly than he. " If," he said France 
to his Council of Stated in the summer of 1802, "the European 
states intend ever to renew the war, the sooner it comes the 
better. Every day the remembrance of their defeats grows 
dimmer and at the same time the prestige of our victories 
pales. . . . France needs glorious deeds, and hence war. She 
must be the first among the states, or she is. lost. I shall put 



542 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Napoleon 
dreams of 
becoming 
emperor 
of Europe 



Reasons for 
England's 
persistent 
opposition to 
Napoleon 



War between 
France and 
England 
renewed in 
1803. Napo- 
leon insti- 
tutes a coast 
blockade 



up with peace as long as our neighbors can maintain it, but I 
shall regard it as an advantage if they force me to take up my 
arms again before they are rusted. ... In our position I shall 
look on each conclusion of peace as simply a short armistice, 
and I regard myself as destined during my term of office to 
fight almost without intermission." 

On another occasion, in 1804, Napoleon said, "There will 
be no rest in Europe until it is under a single chief — an 
emperor who shall have kings for officers, who shall distribute 
kingdoms to his lieutenants, and shall make this one king of 
Italy, that one of Bavaria; this one ruler of Switzerland, that 
one governor of Holland, each having an office of honor in the 
imperial household." This was the ideal that he now found 
himself in a situation to carry out with marvelous exactness. 

There were many reasons why the peace with England (con- 
cluded at Amiens in March, 1802) should be speedily broken, 
especially as the First Consul was not averse to a renewal of 
the war. The obvious intention of Napoleon to bring as much 
of Europe under his control as he could, and the imposition of 
high duties on English goods in those territories that he 
already controlled, filled commercial and industrial England 
with apprehension. The English people longed for peace, but 
peace appeared only to offer an opportunity to the Corsican 
usurper to ruin England by a continuous war upon her com- 
merce. This was the secret of England's pertinacity. All the 
other European powers concluded peace with Napoleon at some 
time during his reign. England alone did not lay down her 
arms a second time until the emperor of the French was a 
prisoner. 

War was renewed between England and France in 1803. 
Bonaparte promptly occupied Hanover, of which it will be re- 
membered that the English king was elector, 1 and declared the 
coast blockaded from Hanover to Otranto. Holland, Spain, 
Portugal, and the Ligurian republic — formerly the republic of 

1 See above, p. 426. 



Europe and Napoleon 543 

Genoa — were, by hook or by crook, induced to agree to fur- 
nish each their contingent of men or money to the French 
army and to exclude English ships from their ports. 

To cap the climax, England was alarmed by the appearance Napoleon 
of a French army at Boulogne, just across the Channel. A i nva de 
great number of flatboats were collected, and troops trained to En s land 
embark and disembark. Apparently Napoleon harbored the 
firm purpose of invading the British Isles. Yet the transpor- 
tation of a large body of troops across the English Channel, 
trifling as is the distance, would have been very hazardous, 
and by many it was deemed downright impossible. No one 
knows whether Napoleon really expected to make the trial. 
It is quite possible that his main purpose in collecting an army 
at Boulogne was to have it in readiness for the continental war 
which he saw immediately ahead of him. He succeeded, at any 
rate, in terrifying England, who prepared to defend herself. 

The Tsar, Alexander I, had submitted a plan for the recon- Coalition of 
ciliation of France and England in August, 1803. The rejec- Austria, 
tion of this and the evident intention of Napoleon to include England, and 

r Sweden 

the eastern coast of the Adriatic in his sphere of influence led 
Russia to join a new coalition which, by July, 1805, included 
Austria, Sweden, and, of course, England. Austria was espe- 
cially affected by the increase of Napoleon's power in Italy. 
He had been crowned king of Italy in May, 1805, had created Napoleon 
a little duchy in northern Italy for his sister, and had annexed mg ° ta y 
the Ligurian republic to France. There were rumors, too, that 
he was planning to seize the Venetian territories which had been 
given to Austria. 

War was declared against Austria, August 23, and four days The war 
later the army at Boulogne was ordered eastward. One of the 
Austrian commanders exhibited the most startling incapacity in 
allowing himself to be shut up in Ulm, where he was forced to 
capitulate with all his troops (October 20). Napoleon then 
marched down the Danube with little opposition, and before the 
middle of November Vienna was in the possession of French 



544 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Occupation of 
Vienna. 
Battle of 
Austerlitz, 
December 2, 
1805 



The Treaty 
of Pressburg 



The dissolu- 
tion of the 
Holy Roman 
Empire, 1806 



Francis II 

assumes the 

title of 

" Emperor of 

Austria" 



troops. Napoleon thereupon led his forces north to meet the 
allied armies of Austria and Russia; these he defeated on 
December 2, in the terrible winter battle of Austerlitz. Russia 
then withdrew for a time and signed an armistice ; and Austria 
was obliged to submit to a humiliating peace, the Treaty of 
Pressburg. 

By this treaty Austria recognized all Napoleon's changes in 
Italy, and ceded to his kingdom of Italy that portion of the 
Venetian territory that she had received at Campo-Formio. 
Moreover, she ceded Tyrol to Bavaria, which was friendly to 
Napoleon, and other of her possessions to Wiirttemberg and 
Baden, also friends of the French emperor. She further agreed 
to ratify the assumption, on the part of the rulers of Bavaria 
and Wiirttemberg, of the titles of " King." Napoleon was now 
in a position still further to reorganize western Europe, with a 
view to establishing a great international federation of which 
he should be the head. 

Napoleon had no desire to unify Germany ; he merely wished 
to maintain a certain number of independent states, or groups of 
states, which he could conveniently control. He had provided, in 
the Treaty of Pressburg, that the newly created sovereigns should 
enjoy the " plentitude of sovereignty " and all the rights derived 
therefrom, precisely as did the rulers of Austria and Prussia. 

This treaty, by explicitly declaring several of the most impor- 
tant of the German states altogether independent of the emperor, 
rendered the further existence of the Holy Roman Empire 
impossible. The emperor, Francis II, accordingly abdicated, 
August 6, 1806. Thus the most imposing and enduring political 
office known to history was formally abolished. 

Francis II did not, however, lose his title of Emperor. 
Shortly after the First Consul had received that title, Francis 
adopted the formula " Emperor of Austria," to designate him 
as the ruler of all the possessions of his house. 1 Hitherto 
he had been officially known as King of Hungary, Bohemia, 

1 Thus Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire became Francis I of Austria. 



Europe and Napoleon 



545 



Dalmatia, Croatia, Galicia, and Laodomeria, Duke of Lorraine, 
Venice, Salzburg, etc., Grand Duke of Transylvania, Margrave 
of Moravia, etc. 

Meanwhile Napoleon had organized a union of the southern The Confed- 
German states, called the Confederation of the Rhine, and had the Rhine 
assumed its headship as "Protector." This he had done, he 




Fig. 144. Francis I of Austria 

assured Europe, " in the dearest interests of his people and of 
his neighbors," adding the pious hope that the French armies 
had crossed the Rhine for the last time, and that the people of 
Germany would witness no longer, " except in the annals of the 
past, the horrible pictures of disorder, devastation, and slaughter 
that war invariably brings with it." In reality, however, Napo- 
leon was enlarging his empire by erecting dependent states 
east of the Rhine. 

Immediately after the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon pro- 
claimed that the king of Naples, who had allied himself with 



546 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Prussia 
forced into 
war with 
France 



Napoleon's 

insolent 

behavior 

toward 

Prussia 



Campaign of 
Jena, 1806 



the English, had ceased to reign, and French generals were 
ordered to occupy Naples. In March, 1806, he made his 
brother Joseph king of Naples and Sicily, his brother Louis 
king of Holland, and his brother-in-law, Murat, duke of Cleves 
and Berg. These states and those of his German allies consti- 
tuted what he called " the real French Empire." 

One of the most important of the continental states, it will 
have been noticed, had taken no part as yet in the opposition 
to the extension of Napoleon's power. Prussia, the first power 
to conclude peace with the new French Republic in 1795, had 
since that time maintained a strict neutrality. Had it yielded to 
Tsar Alexander's persuasions and joined the coalition in 1805, 
it might have turned the tide at Austerlitz, or at any rate have 
encouraged further resistance to the conqueror. The hesitation 
of Frederick William III cost him dear, for Napoleon now forced 
him into war at a time when he could look for no efficient as- 
sistance from Russia or the other powers. The immediate cause 
of the declaration of war was the disposal of Hanover. This 
electorate Frederick William had consented to hold provision- 
ally, pending its possible transfer to him should the English king 
give his assent. Prussia was anxious to get possession of Hanover 
because it lay just between her older possessions and the terri- 
tory which she had gained in the redistribution of 1803. 1 

Napoleon, as usual, did not fail either to see or to use his 
advantage. His conduct toward Prussia was *most insolent. 
After setting her at enmity with England and promising that 
she should have Hanover, he unblushingly offered to restore the 
electorate to George III. His insults now began to arouse the 
national spirit in Prussia, and the reluctant Frederick William 
was forced by the party in favor of war, which included his 
beautiful queen Louise and the great statesman Stein, to break 
with Napoleon. 

Her army was, however, as has been well said, "only that 
of Frederick the Great grown twenty years older " ; one of 
l See above, p. 537. 



Europe and Napoleon 



547 



Frederick's generals, the 
aged duke of Bruns- 
wick, who had issued 
the famous manifesto in 
1792, 1 was its leader. A 
single defeat, near Jena 
(October 14, 1806), put 
Prussia completely in 
the hands of her enemy. 
This one disaster pro- 
duced complete demor- 
alization throughout the 
country. Fortresses were 
surrendered without re- 
sistance, and the king 
fled to the uttermost 
parts of his realm on 
the Russian boundary. 
Napoleon now led his 
army into Poland, where 
he spent the winter in 
operations against Rus- 
sia and her feeble Prus- 
sian ally. He closed an 
arduous campaign by a 
signal victory at Fried- 
land (June 14, 1807), 
which was followed by 
the treaties of Tilsit with 
Russia and Prussia (July 
7 and 9). Napoleon had 
no mercy on Prussia. 
Frederick William III 
lost all his possessions 

1 See above, p. 513. 




Fig. 145. Nelson's Column, 
Trafalgar Square, London 

The English regard Nelson as the man who 
safeguarded their liberty by the victories of 
the fleet. Nelson was killed at Trafalgar 
and buried with great ceremony in the 
crypt of St. Paul's, under the very center 
of the dome. Some years later, " Trafalgar 
Square " was laid out at the point where 
the street leading to the Parliament build- 
ings joins a chief business street — the 
Strand — and a gigantic column to Nelson 
erected, surmounted by a statue of the 
admiral. In the distance one can see the 
towers of the Parliament buildings 



548 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Treaty of 
Tilsit, 1807 



The grand 
duchy of 
Warsaw and 
the kingdom 
of Westphalia 



The con- 
tinental 
blockade 



The Berlin 
decree and 
Napoleon's 
"paper" 
blockade 



to the west of the Elbe and all that Prussia had gained in 
the second and third partitions of Poland. The Polish territory 
Napoleon made into a new subject kingdom called the grand 
duchy of Warsaw, and chose his friend, the king of Saxony, as 
its ruler. Out of the western lands of Prussia, which Jie later 
united with Hanover, he created the kingdom of Westphalia for 
his brother Jerome. Russia, on the other hand, was treated with 
marked consideration. The Tsar finally consented to recognize 
all the sweeping territorial changes that Napoleon had made, 
and secretly agreed to enforce the blockade against England 
should that country refuse to make peace. 

Napoleon's most persevering enemy, England, still remained 
unconquered and inaccessible. Just as Napoleon was under- 
taking his successful campaign against Austria in 1805, Nelson 
had annihilated a second French fleet in the renowned naval 
engagement of Trafalgar, off the coast of Spain. It seemed 
more than ever necessary, therefore, to ruin England commer- 
cially and industrially, since there was obviously no likelihood 
of subduing it by arms. 

In May, 1806, England had declared the coast from the 
Elbe to Brest to be blockaded. Napoleon replied to this with 
the Berlin decree (November 21, 1806), in which he proclaimed 
it a monstrous abuse of the right for England to declare great 
stretches of coast in a state of blockade which her whole fleet 
would be unable to enforce. He retaliated with a " paper " 1 
blockade of the British Isles, which forbade all commerce with 
them. Letters or packages directed to England or to an Eng- 
lishman or written in the English language were not to be 
permitted to pass through the mails in the countries he con- 
trolled. Every English subject in countries occupied by French 
troops or in the territory of Napoleon's allies was to be regarded 
as a prisoner of war and his property as a lawful prize. All 
trade in English goods was forbidden. 

1 That is, a blockade too extensive to be really carried out by the ships at the 
disposal of the power proclaiming it. 



Europe and Napoleon 549 

A year later England established a similar paper blockade of Disastrous 
the ports of the French Empire and its allies, but permitted the blockades on 
ships of neutral powers to proceed, provided that they touched ^tS^ked 
at an English port, secured a license from the English govern- States 
ment, and paid a heavy export duty. Napoleon promptly de- 
clared all ships that submitted to these humiliating regulations to 
be lawful prizes of French privateers. The ships, of the United 
States were at this time the most numerous and important of 
the neutral carriers. The disastrous results of these restrictions 
led to the various embargo acts (the first of which was passed 
by Congress in December, 1807), and ultimately to the destruc- 
tion of the flourishing carrying trade of the United States. 

Napoleon tried to render Europe permanently independent of Napoleon's 
the colonial productions brought from English colonies and by make?he° 
English ships. He encouraged the substitution of chicory for £°j ntine "f 
coffee, the cultivation of the sugar beet, and the discovery of new of English 

• -r. colonial 

dyes to replace those coming from the tropics. But the distress products 
caused by the disturbance in trade produced great discontent, 
especially in Russia ; it rendered the domination of Napoleon 
more and more distasteful, and finally contributed to his downfall. 



Napoleon at the Zenith of his Power (1808-18 12) 

in. France owed much to Napoleon, for he had restored Napoleon's 
order and guaranteed many of the beneficent achievements of France 111 
the Revolution of 1789. His boundless ambition was, it is 
true, sapping her strength by forcing younger and younger men 
into his armies in order to build up the vast international fed- 
eration of which he dreamed. But his victories and the com- 
manding position to which he had raised France could not 
but fill the nation with pride. 

He sought to gain popular approval by great public improve- Public works 
ments. He built marvelous roads across the Alps and along 
the Rhine, which still fill the traveler with admiration. He 
beautified Paris by opening up wide streets and quays and 



55o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The new 
nobility and 
the Legion 
of Honor 



building magnificent bridges and triumphal arches that kept 
fresh in the people's mind the recollection of his victories. By 

these means he gradu- 
ally converted a medieval 
town into the most beau- 
tiful of modern capitals. 

The whole educational 
system was reorganized 
and made as highly cen- 
tralized and as subser- 
vient to the aims of the 
emperor as any depart- 
ment of government. Na- 
poleon argued that one of 
the chief aims of educa- 
tion should be the forma- 
tion of loyal subjects who 
would be faithful to the 
emperor and his succes- 
sors. An imperial cate- 
chism was prepared, which 
not only inculcated loyalty 
to Napoleon but actually 
threatened with eternal 
perdition those who should 
fail in their obligations 
to him, including military 
service. 1 

Napoleon created a new 
nobility, and he endeav- 
ored to assure the sup- 
them members 
The " Princes " 




Fig. 146. Arch of Triumph 

Begun by Napoleon in 1806, this largest 
arch of triumph in the world was not 
completed until 1S36. It is 160 feet 
high and stands on a slight hill, with 
streets radiating from all sides, so that 
it is known as the Arch of Triumph of 
the Star. It is therefore visible from 
all over the western part of the city. 
The monument recalls the days of the 
Roman Empire, upon which so many of 
the institutions and ideas of Republican 
and Napoleonic France were based 



making 



port of distinguished individuals by 

of the Legion of Honor which he founded. 



1 See Readings in Modern European History, 
European History, Vol. II, p. 509. 



Vol. I, p. 351 ; Readings in 



Europe and Napoleon 



551 



whom he nominated received an annual income of two hundred 
thousand francs. The ministers of state, senators, members of 
his Council of State, and the archbishops received the title of 
"Count" and a revenue of thirty thousand francs, and so on. The 
army was not forgotten, for Napoleon felt that to be his chief 
support. The incomes of his marshals were enormous, and 
brave actions among the soldiers were rewarded with the 
decoration of the Legion of Honor. 

As time went on Napoleon's despotism grew more and more 
oppressive. No less than thirty-five hundred prisoners of state 
were arrested at his command, one because he hated Napoleon, 
another because in his letters he expressed sentiments adverse 
to the government, and so on. No grievance was too petty to 
attract the attention of the emperor's jealous eye. He ordered 
the title of a History of Bonaparte to be changed to the 
History of the Campaigns of Napoleon the Great} He forbade 
the performance of certain of Schiller's and Goethe's plays in 
German towns, as tending to arouse the patriotic discontent of 
the people with his rule. 

Up to this time Napoleon had had only the opposition of the 
several European rulers to overcome in the extension of his 
power. The people of the various states which he had con- 
quered showed an extraordinary indifference toward the political 
changes. It was clear, however- that as soon as the national 
spirit was once awakened, the highly artificial system created 
by the French emperor would collapse. His first serious reverse 
came from the people and from an unexpected quarter. 

1 Napoleon was never content with his achievements or his glory. On the day 
of his coronation, December, 1S06, he complained to his minister Decres that 
he had been born too late, that there was nothing great to be done any more. 
On his minister's remonstrating he added : " I admit that my career has been 
brilliant and that I have made a good record. But what a difference is there if 
we compare ours with ancient times. Take Alexander the Great, for example. 
After announcing himself the son of Jupiter, the whole East, except his mother, 
Aristotle, and a few Athenian pedants, believed this to be true. But now, 
should I nowadays declare myself the son of the Eternal Father, there is n't a 
fishwife who would not hiss me. No, the nations are too sophisticated, there is 
nothing great any longer possible," 



Napoleon's 
despotism 
in France 



Napoleon's 
European 
power threat- 
ened by the 
growth of 
national 
opposition 
to him 



552 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Napoleon 
makes his 
brother 
Joseph king 
of Spain 



Napoleon decided, after Tilsit, that the Spanish peninsula 
must be brought more completely under his control. Portugal 
was too friendly to the English, and Spain, owing to serious 
dissensions in the royal family, seemed an easy prey. In the 
spring of 1808 Napoleon induced both the king and the crown 
prince of Spain to meet him at Bayonne. Here he was able 
to persuade or force both of them to surrender their rights to 




Fig. 147. The Duke of Wellington 



Revolt in 
Spain 
against the 
foreign ruler 



the throne ; on June 6 he appointed his brother Joseph king 
of Spain, making Murat king of Naples in his stead. 

Joseph entered Madrid in July, armed with excellent inten- 
tions and a new constitution. The general rebellion in favor 
of the crown prince which immediately broke out had an ele- 
ment of religious enthusiasm in it, for the monks stirred up the 
people against Napoleon, on the ground that he was oppress- 
ing the pope and depriving him of his dominions. One French 
army was captured at Baylen, and another capitulated to the 
English forces which had landed in Portugal. Before the end 



Europe and Napoleon 553 

of July, Joseph and the French troops had been compelled to 
retreat behind the Ebro River. 

In November the French emperor himself led a magnificent Spain sub- 
army into Spain, two hundred thousand strong, in the best of ue y a 
condition and commanded by his ablest marshals. The Span- 
ish troops, perhaps one hundred thousand in number, were 
ill clad and inadequately equipped ; what was worse, they 
were overconfident in view of their late victory. They were of 
course defeated, and Madrid surrendered December 4. Napo- 
leon immediately abolished the Inquisition, the feudal dues, the 
internal customs lines, and two thirds of the cloisters. This is 
typical of the way in which the French Revolution went forth 
in arms to spread its principles throughout western Europe. 

The next month Napoleon was back in Paris, as he saw that The Penin- 
he had another war with Austria on his hands. He left Joseph 
on his insecure throne, after assuring the Spanish that God had 
given the French emperor the power and the will to overcome 
all obstacles. 1 He was soon to discover, however, that these 
very Spaniards could maintain a guerrilla warfare against which 
his best troops and most distinguished generals were powerless. 
The English army under the Duke of Wellington slowly but 
surely drove the French back over the Pyrenees. His ultimate 
downfall was in no small measure due to this Peninsular War. 

In April, 1809, Austria ventured to declare war once more War with 
on the " enemy of Europe," but this time she found no one to ^"o" Battle 
aid her. The great battle of Wagram, near Vienna (July 5-6), of Wa s^ m 
was not perhaps so unconditional a victory for the French as 
that of Austerlitz, but it forced Austria into just as humiliat- 
ing a peace as that of Pressburg. Austria's object had been 

1 " It depends upon you alone," he said to the Spanish in his proclamation 
of December 7, " whether this moderate constitution that I offer you shall hence- 
forth be your law. Should all my efforts prove vain, and should you refuse to 
justify my confidence, then nothing remains for me but to treat you as a con- 
quered province and find a new throne for my brother. In that case I shall my- 
self assume the crown of Spain and teach the ill-disposed to respect that crown, 
for God has given me power and will to overcome all obstacles." 



554 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Extension of 
the bound- 
aries of 
France 



to destroy Napoleon's system of dependencies and " to restore 
to their rightful possessors all those lands belonging to them 
respectively before the Napoleonic usurpations." Instead of 
accomplishing this end, Austria was obliged to cede more terri- 
tory to Napoleon and his allies, and he went on adding to his 
dependencies. After incorporating into France the kingdom 
of Etruria and the papal dominions (1808-1809), Napoleon 
was encouraged by his victory over Austria to annex Holland l 
and the German districts to the north, including the Hanseatic 
towns. Consequently, in 18 10 France stretched from the con- 
fines of Naples to the Baltic. One might travel from Liibeck 
to Rome without leaving Napoleon's realms. 

Napoleon was anxious to have an heir to whom he could 
transmit his vast dominions. As Josephine bore him no chil- 
dren, he decided to divorce her, and, after considering a Russian 
princess, he married the Archduchess Maria Louisa, the daughter 
of the Austrian emperor and a grandniece of Marie Antoinette. 
In this way the former Corsican adventurer gained admission 
to one of the oldest and proudest of reigning families, the 
Hapsburgs. His new wife soon bore him a son, who was 
styled King of Rome. 



The Fall of Napoleon 



Re^ 

Spa 
aga 
fort 



Relations 
between 
Napoleon 
and Alex- 
ander I of 
Russia 



112. Among the continental states Russia alone was entirely 
out of Napoleon's control. There were plenty of causes for 
misunderstanding between the ardent young Tsar Alexander I 
and Napoleon. Up to this time the agreement of Tilsit had 
been maintained. Napoleon was, however, secretly opposing 
Alexander's plans for adding the Danubian provinces and 
Finland to his possessions. Then the possibility of Napoleon's 
reestablishing Poland as a national kingdom which might 



1 Louis Bonaparte, the father of Napoleon III, and the most conscientious of 
the Bonaparte family, had been so harassed by his imperial brother that he had 
abdicated as king of Holland. 



Europe and Napoleon 555 

threaten Russia's interests was a constant source of appre- 
hension to Alexander. By 18 12 Napoleon believed himself 
to be in a condition to subdue this doubtful friend, who might 
at any moment become a dangerous enemy. Against the 
advice of his more far-sighted counselors, the emperor col- 
lected on the Russian frontier a vast army of four hundred 




Fig. 148. Music Room in the Palace of Compiegne 

Napoleon used the various palaces erected by the previous rulers 
of France. That at Compiegne, 50 miles from Paris, was built by 
Louis XV. The smaller harp was made, it is said, for Napoleon's heir, 
" The King of Rome," as his father called him. The boy was but three 
years old, however, when Napoleon abdicated in 18 14, and was carried 
off to Austria by his Austrian mother, Maria Louise. He was known 
by the Bonapartists as Napoleon II, but never ruled over France 

thousand men, composed to a great extent of young con- 
scripts and the contingents furnished by his allies. 

The story of the fearful Russian campaign which followed Napoleon's 
cannot be told here in detail. Napoleon had planned to take rS^i" 
three years to conquer Russia, but he was forced on by the 
necessity of gaining at least one signal victory before he closed 
the season's campaign. The Russians simply retreated and 
led him far within a hostile and devastated country before they 



556 



Medieval and Modern Times 



offered battle at Borodino (September 7). Napoleon won 
the battle, but his army was reduced to something over one 
hundred thousand men when he entered Moscow a week 
later. The town had been set on fire by the Russians before 
his arrival ; he found his position untenable and had to retreat 
as winter came on. The cold, the want of food, and the 
harassing attacks of the people along the route made that 
retreat the most signal military tragedy on record. Napoleon 
regained Poland early in December with scarcely twenty thou- 
sand of the four hundred thousand with which he had started 
less than six months before. 

Napoleon hastened back to Paris, where he freely misrepre- 
sented the true state of affairs, even declaring that the army 
was in a good condition up to the time that he turned it over 
to Murat in December. While the loss of men in the Russian 
campaign was enormous, just those few had naturally survived 
who would be most essential in the formation of a new army ; 
namely, the officers. With their help, Napoleon soon had a 
force of no less than six hundred thousand men with which to 
return to the attack. This contained one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand conscripts who should not have been called into service 
until 1 8 1 4, besides older men who had been hitherto exempted. 

By the end of February, 18 13, the timid Frederick William 
had been induced by public sentiment in Prussia to break with 
his oppressor and join Russia. On March 17, he issued a fam- 
ous address " To my People," in which he called upon them to 
assist him in the recovery of Prussian independence. Up to the 
defeat of Jena, Prussia was far more backward in its social 
organization than France had been before 1789. The agricul- 
tural classes were serfs, who were bound to the land and com- 
pelled to work a certain part of each week for the lord without 
remuneration. 1 The population was divided into strict social 
castes. Moreover, no noble could buy citizen or peasant land ; no 
citizen, noble or peasant land ; no peasant, noble or citizen land. 

1 See above, p. 442. 



Europe and Napoleon 557 

The disaster of Jena and the losses at Tilsit convinced the Reform of 
clearer-sighted statesmen of Prussia, especially Stein, that the system hi 
country's only hope of recovery was a complete social and Prussia 
political revolution, not unlike that which had taken place* in 
France. They saw that the feudal system must be abolished, 




Fig. 149. Stein 

Freiherr vom Stein was the chief of a group of statesmen who in the 
1iour of Prussia's deepest humiliation laid the basis of the new Prussia 
of the nineteenth century. While Stein was mainly interested in civil 
reforms, the army was also reorganized as a citizen army and became 
the starting point for the great national army of to-day 

the peasants freed, and the restrictions which hedged about 
the different classes done away with, before it would be pos- 
sible to arouse public spirit to a point where a great popular 
uprising might expel the intruder forever. 

The first great step toward this general reform was the 
royal decree of October 9, 1807, intended to " remove every 
obstacle that has hitherto prevented the individual from 



558 



Medieval and Modern Times 



attaining such a degree of prosperity as he was capable of 
reaching." Serfdom was abolished and the restrictions on 
landholding removed, so that any one, regardless of class, was 

at liberty to pur- 
chase and hold 
landed property of 
every kind. In some 
cases the principles 
of the French Rev- 
olution had been 
introduced by Napo- 
leon or the rulers 
that he set up. In 
this case it was the 
necessity of prepar- 
ing the country to 
throw off his yoke 
and regain its in- 
dependence that led 
to the same result. 
Napoleon had to 
face now, not only 
the kings and the 
cabinets of Europe 
and the regular ar- 
mies that they di- 
rected but a people 
who were being or- 
ganized to defend 
their country. The 
campaign which fol- 
lowed is known in Prussia as the War of Liberation. His 
soldiers were, however, still triumphant for a time. He met 
with no successful opposition, and on May 14, 18 13, he oc- 
cupied Dresden in the territory of his faithful ally, the king 




Fig. 150. Monument of the "Battle 
of the Nations," Leipzig 

This vast structure, rising about four hundred 
feet above the plain, took fifteen years to build. 
It was solemnly inaugurated by the Emperor 
in October, 1913, to celebrate the centenary of 
the battle. The picture represents a patriotic 
demonstration, for the monument was natu- 
rally a reminder not only of Germany's deliver- 
ance from Napoleon but also of the first great 
victory of German nationality in modern times 



Europe and Napoleon 559 

of Saxony. This he held during the summer, and inflicted Battle of 
several defeats upon the allies, who had been joined by Aus- 
tria in August. He gained his last great victory, the battle l8 * 3 
of Dresden, August 26-27. Finding that the allied armies of 
the Russians, Prussians, and Austrians, which had at last 
learned the necessity of cooperating against their powerful 
common enemy, were preparing to cut him off from France, 
he retreated early in October and was totally defeated in the 




-~4Jlt— /^^- t~-£ y _^^ JjL - fc /w _ - ^**^^s^v_^/ e<; ^-^^f 

Fig. 151. The Abdication of Napoleon — the Document 
in his own Handwriting 1 

tremendous " Battle of the Nations," as the Germans love to 
call it, in the environs of Leipzig (October 16—19). 

As the defeated emperor crossed the Rhine with the rem- 
nants of his army, the whole fabric of his political edifice in 

1 The document reads as follows : " Les puissances alliees ayant proclame 
que l'Empereur Napoleon etait le seul obstacle au retablissement de la paix en 
Europe, l'Empereur, fidele a son serment, declare qu'il renonce, pour lui et pour 
ses successeurs, aux trones de France et d'ltalie, et qu'il, fidele a son serment, 
n'est aucun sacrifice personnel, mefne celui de la vie, qu'il ne soit pret a faire aux 
interets de la France." 

" The allied powers having proclaimed that the Emperor Napoleon was the 
sole obstacle to the reestablishment of peace in Europe, the Emperor, faithful 
to his oath, proclaims that he renounces, for himself and his successors, the 
thrones of France and of Italy, and that, faithful to his oath, there is no personal 
sacrifice, even that of life, that he is not ready to make for the interests of 
France." 



560 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Germany, Germany and Holland collapsed. The members of the Con- 
Spain^hrow federation of the Rhine joined the allies. Jerome Bonaparte 

off the Napo- fl e( j f rom ^is kingdom of Westphalia, and the Dutch drove 
leonic yoke ° r 

the French officials from Holland. During the year 1813 



Occupation 
of Paris by 
the allies, 
March 31, 
1814 




Fig. 152. The Return of Napoleon from Elba 

Napoleon landed almost alone in France, but had a triumphal march 
to Paris. The old soldiers of the armies of the empire responded to his 
call, and even those sent against him yielded to the spell of his person- 
ality and joined his small but growing army. Louis XVIII fled from 
Paris and took refuge with the allies, until Waterloo ended this last 
great adventure of Napoleon, one hundred days later. The period is 
often known as " The Hundred Days " 

the Spanish, with the aid of the English under Wellington, 
had practically cleared their country of the French intruders. 

In spite of these disasters, Napoleon refused the propositions 
of peace made on condition that he would content himself 
henceforth with his dominion over France. The allies conse- 
quently marched into France, and the almost superhuman 



Europe and Napoleon 



561 



Napoleon was forced to 



activity of the hard-pressed emperor could not prevent their Napoleon 
occupation of Paris (March 31, 18 14). * 
abdicate, and the allies, 
in seeming derision, 



granted him full sover- 
eignty over the tiny 
island of Elba and per- 
mitted him to retain his 
imperial title. In reality 
he was a prisoner on 
his island kingdom, and 
the Bourbons reigned 
again in France. 

Within a year, en- 
couraged by the dissen- 
sions of the allies and 
the unpopularity of the 
Bourbons, he made his 
escape, landed in France 
(March 1, 18 15), and 
was received with en- 
thusiasm by a portion 
of the army. Yet France 
as a whole was indif- 
ferent, if not hostile, to 
his attempt to reestab- 
lish his power. Cer- 
tainly no one could place 
confidence in his talk of 
peace and liberty. More- 
over, whatever disagree- 
ment there might be among the allies on other matters, there Return of 




Fig. 153. Tomb of Napoleon 

Napoleon died at Saint Helena in 182 1. 
The body was brought to Paris in 1840 
and placed with great military splendor in 
this sarcophagus of reddish-brown gran- 
ite, which was hewn in Finland as a solid 
block, weighing 67 tons. Around it in the 
pavement are inscribed the names of 
Napoleon's greatest victories, while some 
60 captured banners stand beside colos- 
sal statues of victory. The whole tomb is 
under the gilded dome of the church of 
the old soldiers' hospital, known as the 
Invalides, which rises 161 feet above it 1 



was perfect unanimity in their attitude toward " the enemy and 



Napoleon 



1 The interior of General Grant's tomb in New York was obviously suggested 
by that of Napoleon. 



562 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Battle of 
Waterloo, 
June, 1815. 
Exile to 
Saint Helena 



destroyer of the world's peace." They solemnly proclaimed 
him an outlaw and devoted him to public vengeance. 

Upon learning that English troops under Wellington, the hero 
of the Peninsular War, and a Prussian army under Bliicher, the 
hero of the War of Liberation, had arrived in the Netherlands, 
Napoleon decided to attack them with such troops as he could 
collect. In the first engagements he defeated and drove back 
the Prussians. Wellington then took his station south of Brus- 
sels, at Waterloo. Napoleon advanced against him (June 18, 
18 1 5) but was unable to defeat the English and was finally 
routed when Bluchers Prussians arrived to aid Wellington. 
Thus Napoleon lost the most memorable of modern battles. 
Yet, even if he had not been defeated at Waterloo, he could 
not long have opposed the vast armies which were being con- 
centrated to overthrow him. This time he was banished to the 
remote island of Saint Helena, where he could only brood over 
the past and prepare his Memoirs, in which he carefully strove 
to justify his career of ambition. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 106. Tell something of the early life of Napoleon 
Bonaparte. What powers were at war with France when Bonaparte 
took command of the Italian army? With what success did Bona- 
parte meet in Italy? Describe Bonaparte's character. What were 
the chief sources of his power? 

Section 107. What were Bonaparte's motives in going to Egypt? 
Describe the Egyptian and Syrian expeditions. How did Bonaparte 
become First Consul? What is the origin of the word "consul"? 
Why was Bonaparte popular ? What were his first measures ? 

Section 108. Describe Bonaparte's second expedition to Italy 
and its results. How did Louisiana come into the hands of the 
United States? Describe the general nature of the Holy Roman 
Empire. Had the emperors tried in previous centuries to strengthen 
Germany? What were the circumstances that led to the consolida- 
tion of Germany in 1 803 ? What is meant by " secularization " ? Give 
some examples. 



Europe and Nap ole 07i 563 

Section 109. How did Bonaparte adjust the relations of France 
to the Church ? What did he do about the runaway nobles ? What 
was the Code Napoleon! Why did Bonaparte want to be called 
Napoleon I ? Why do despotic monarchs dislike a free press ? 

Section iio. Why did Napoleon believe that he would be con- 
stantly involved in war? What was the extent of French territory 
when war was renewed in 1 803 ^ What were the sources of Napoleon's 
dislike for England? Describe the final dissolution of the Holy 
Roman Empire. How did Prussia become involved in war with 
France in 1806, and what were the results? What was the con- 
tinental blockade? How did Napoleon hope to make the Continent 
independent of English commerce ? 

Section hi. What did Napoleon do for Paris ? What were 
Napoleon's ideas of education? Do you know of any modern state 
that has similar views ? What was the result of Napoleon's attempt 
to add Spain to his empire? How were the French boundaries ex- 
tended after the war with Austria in 1809? Why did Napoleon 
marry an Austrian princess? 

Section 112. Why did Napoleon undertake his Russian expedi- 
tion? What reforms were carried through in Prussia as a result of 
her defeat by Napoleon? Tell something of the campaign of 181 3. 
Why do the Germans call the battle of Leipzig the " Battle of the 
Nations " ? What was the end of Napoleon's career in Europe ? 
What does Europe owe to • Napoleon ? 



CHAPTER XXVI 

EUROPE AFTER THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA 

Reconstruction of Europe by the Congress 
of Vienna 



Problem of 
the recon- 
struction 
of Europe 
after Napo- 
leon's fall 



Provisions of 
the Congress 
of Vienna in 
regard to the 
Netherlands, 
Switzerland, 
Italy, and 
Germany 



113. There is no more important chapter in the political his- 
tory of Europe than the reconstruction of the map after Napo- 
leon's abdication. The allies immediately reinstated the Bourbon 
dynasty on the throne of France in the person of Louis XVFs 
younger brother, the count of Provence, who became Louis 
XVIII. 1 They first restricted France to the boundaries that 
she had had at the beginning of 1792, but later deprived her of 
Savoy as a punishment for yielding to the domination of Napo- 
leon after his return from Elba. A great congress of the Euro- 
pean powers was summoned to meet at Vienna, where the allies 
proposed to settle all those difficult problems that faced them. 
They had no idea of reestablishing things just as they were be- 
fore the Napoleonic cataclysm, for the simple reason that Austria, 
Russia, and Prussia all had schemes for their own advantage 
that precluded so simple an arrangement. 

The Congress of Vienna began its sessions November 1, 18 14. 
The allies quickly agreed that Holland should become an 
hereditary kingdom under the house of Orange, which had 
long played so conspicuous a role in the nominal republic. In 
order that Holland might be the better able to check any new 
encroachments on the part of France, she was given the former 
Austrian Netherlands. Switzerland was declared independent, 

1 The son of Louis XVI had been imprisoned and maltreated by the terrorists. 
He died while still a boy in 1795, but nevertheless takes his place in the line of 
French kings as Louis XVII. 

564 



Europe after the Congress of Vienna 565 

as were all the small Italian states which had existed prior 
to the changes made by Napoleon, except the ancient re- 
publics of Venice and Genoa, neither of which was restored. 
Genoa was given to the king of Sardinia ; Venetia to Austria, 
as an indemnity for her losses in the Netherlands. Austria also 
received back her former territory of Milan, and became, by 
reason of her control of northern Italy, a powerful factor in de- 
termining the policy of the whole Italian peninsula. As to Ger- 
many, no one desired to undo the great work of 1803 and restore 
the old anarchy. The former members of the Rhine Confed- 
eration were bent upon maintaining the " sovereignty " which 
Napoleon had secured for them ; consequently the allies deter- 
mined that the several states of Germany should be independent, 
but " united in a federal union." 

So far all was tolerably harmonious. Nevertheless, serious Dispute over 
differences of opinion developed at the congress, which nearly thePolisn 
brought on war among the allies themselves, and encouraged territory and 
Napoleon's return from Elba. These concerned the disposi- the kingdom 
tion of .the Polish territory that Napoleon had converted into 
the grand duchy of Warsaw. Prussia and Russia were agreed 
that the best way would be to let the Tsar make a separate state 
of this territory, and unite it in a personal union with his Rus- 
sian realms. Prussia was then to be indemnified for her losses 
in the East by annexing the lands of the king of Saxony, who, 
it was argued, merited this retribution for remaining faithful to 
Napoleon after the other members of the Confederation of the 
Rhine had repudiated him. 

Austria and England, on the other hand, were bitterly Sagacity of 
opposed to this arrangement. They approved neither of dis- a eyran 
possessing the king of Saxony nor of extending the Tsar's influ- 
ence westward by giving him Poland. The great diplomatist, 
Talleyrand, who represented Louis XVIII at the congress, now 
saw his chance. The allies had resolved to treat France as a 
black sheep and permit the other four great powers to arrange 
matters to suit themselves. But they were now hopelessly at 



566 



■Medieval and Modern Times 



The com- 
promise 



Changes in 
the map of 
Europe 
since 1815 



odds, and Austria and England found France a welcome ally in 
their opposition to the northern powers. So in this way the 
disturber of the peace of Europe for the last quarter of a 
century was received back into the family of nations. 

A compromise was at last reached. The Tsar, Alexander, 
was allowed to create a kingdom of Poland out of the grand 
duchy of Warsaw, but only half of the possessions of the 
king of Saxony were ceded to Prussia. As a further in- 
demnity, Frederick William III was given certain districts 
on the west bank of the Rhine which had belonged to ecclesi- 
astical and petty lay princes before the Treaty of Lune'ville. 
The great importance of this arrangement we shall see 
later when we come to trace the development of the present 
German Empire. 

If one compares the map of Europe in 1815 with that a 
hundred years later, in 1915, 1 he will be struck with the follow- 
ing differences. In 18 15 there was no German empire, and 
Prussia was a much smaller and less compact state than now. 
It has evidently grown at the expense of its neighbors, as sev- 
eral of the lesser German states of 18 15 no longer appear on 
the map. It will be noted that the present German Empire does 
not include any part of the Austrian countries, as did the Con- 
federation of 18 1 5, and that, on the other hand, it does include 
all of Prussia. The kingdom of Poland has become an integral 
part of the Russian dominions. Austria, excluded from the 
German union, has entered into a dual union with Hungary. 

There was no kingdom of Italy in 18 15. Now Austria has 
lost all hold on Lombardy and Venetia, and all the little states 
reestablished by the Congress of Vienna, including the Papal 
States, have disappeared. A new kingdom, Belgium, has been 
created out of the old Austrian Netherlands which the con- 
gress gave to the king of Holland. France, now a republic 
again, has recovered Savoy, but has lost all her possessions on 
the Rhine by the cession of Alsace and Lorraine to the German 

1 Compare the accompanying map with that below, p. 734. 




Important Members of the Congress of Vienna 



Europe after the Congress of Vienna 567 

Empire. Lastly, Turkey in Europe has practically disappeared, 
and several new states, Greece, Servia, Roumania, and Bulgaria, 
have appeared in southeastern Europe. It is the purpose of 
the following chapters to show and explain how the great 
changes indicated on the map took place. 

The first result of the victory over Napoleon was an attempt influence of 
upon the part of restored rulers to return as far as possible the spreading m 
old regime. Napoleon, in spite of all his despotism, was a son thieved™ 5 
of the Revolution and had no sympathy with the ancient abuses the Revolu- 
that it had done away with. The people of the countries that 
had come under his influence had learned some of the great les- 
sons of the French Revolution. Nevertheless, the restored Reactionary 
monarchs in many of the smaller European states proceeded the smaller 
to reestablish the ancient feudal abuses and to treat their ^JL^ 
subjects as if there had been no French Revolution and no 
such man as Napoleon. In Spain, for example, the Inquisi- 
tion was again restored and the clergy were exempted anew 
from taxation.. In Hesse-Cassel, which had formed a part of 
the kingdom of Westphalia, all the reforms introduced by 
Napoleon and his brother were abolished. The privileges of 
the nobility, and also the feudal burdens of the peasantry, 
were restored. The soldiers were even required to assume 
the discarded pigtails and powdered wigs of the eighteenth 
century. In Sardinia and Naples the returning monarchs 
pursued the same policy of reaction. The reaction was not 
so sudden and obvious in the greater European states — 
France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia. 

* The Tsar was a well-meaning man, of naturally liberal tendencies 
until late in life. He had been dazzled by Napoleon's suggestion in 
1807 that the two divide the world between them, Alexander taking the 
East. But when the war was renewed in 18 12 and Napoleon suffered 
his great disaster on the retreat from Moscow, Alexander became the 
center of the coalition that overthrew Napoleon. After Waterloo his 
influence was very great, and he induced his brother monarchs to join 
a "Holy Alliance" to secure justice in all nations. Unfortunately this 
fine ideal did not prevent much persecution and oppression by con- 
servative rulers. 



568 



Medieval and Modern Times 



France, i 8 14-1830 



The restora- 
tion of the 
Bourbons in 
France 



Policy of 
Louis XVI 1 1, 
1S14-1824 



The Charter 
of 1814 



114. The French had aroused themselves in 1 793-1 794 
to repel the foreign powers, Austria and Prussia, who threat- 
ened to intervene in the domestic concerns of the country 
and to reestablish the old re'gime. Twenty years later, in 18 14, 
when the allies entered Paris, there was no danger either of a 
popular uprising or of the reestablishment of the old abuses. 
It is true that the Bourbon line of kings was restored ; but 
France had always been monarchical at heart. It was only the 
ill-advised conduct of Louis XVI in the peculiar circumstances 
of 1791-1792 that had led to his deposition and the establish- 
ment of a republic, which Napoleon had easily converted into 
a monarchy. The new king, Louis XVIII, left intact the won- 
derful administrative system of Napoleon and made no effort 
to destroy the great achievements of the Revolution. He granted 
the nation a constitution called the Charter, 1 which was in 
force, slightly changed in 1830, until 1848. 

The Charter of 18 14 furnishes us with a statement of the 
permanent results of the Revolution. The concessions that 
Louis XVIII found it expedient to make, " in view of the 
expectations of enlightened Europe," help us to measure 
the distance that separates his time from that of Louis XVI. 

All Frenchmen are declared by the Charter to be equal 
before the law, and equally eligible to civil and military posi- 
tions. Personal and religious liberty is insured, and all citi- 
zens, without distinction of rank, are required to contribute to 
the taxes in proportion to their means. In short, almost all the 
great reforms proclaimed by the first Declaration of the Rights 
of Man are guaranteed. The Jaws are to be made by the king 
in cooperation with a parliament, consisting of a House o f 
Peers and of a Chamber of Deputies elected by the nation; 
the latter may impeach the kir ' ..srers. 

1 So called Lo indicate that it was a gift from the king; to the nation, thus em- 
phasizing the royalist claim that the king, not the nation, was the source of lav-. 



Europe after the Congress of Vienna 



569 



In spite of these enlightened provisions, attempts were 
made by the old emigrant nobles — still led by their original 
leader, the king's brother, the count of Artois — and by the 
clergy to further a reaction in France. This party induced 
the French parliament to pass certain oppressive measures, and, 
as we shall see, persuaded Louis XVIII to cooperate with 
the other reactionary rulers in interfering to quell the revo- 
lutionary movements in Italy and Spain. 

In 1824 Louis XVIII died and was succeeded by the count 
of Artois, who took the title of Charles X. Under his rule 
the reactionary policy of the government naturally became 
more pronounced. A bill was passed voting the nobility a 
large sum of money for the property they had lost during 
the Revolution. Then, by royal decrees, a close censorship of 
the press was established, the suffrage was limited to a small, 
wealthy class and only the king was to initiate laws. These un- 
just and tyrannical measures led to the dethronement of the 
unpopular king by ^a revolution in Paris in 1830. Louis 
Philippe, the descendant of Henry IV through the younger, 
or Orleans, branch of the Bourbon family, was put upon 
the throne. 1 



Policy of the 
reactionary 
party in 
France 



Charles X 
deposed in 
1830 and 
replaced 
by Louis 
Philippe 



1 The Last Bourbon Kings 

Henry IV 

I 
Louis XIII (d. 1643) 



Louis XIV (d. 1 715) 

Louis XV (d. 1774), 
great-grandson of Louis XIV 

Louis the Dauphin (d. 1765) 



Louis XVI 
(d. 1793) 

Louis XVII (d. 1795) 



Louis XVIII 

(d- 1824), 
Count of Provence 



Philip, Duke of Orleans 



Charles X 
(deposed 1830), 
Count of Artois 



Louis Philippe I 

(great-great-grandson of 

Philip), deposed 1848 



5 7° Medieval and Modern Times 

Germany and Metternich 

Three chief 115. The chief effects of the Napoleonic occupation of 

Napoleon's Germany were three in number. First, the consolidation of 
influence m territory that followed the cession of the west bank of the 

Germany J 

Rhine to France had, as has been explained, done away with 

the ecclesiastical states, the territories of knights, and most of 

Disappear- the free towns. Only thirty-eight German states, including four 

f t he little towns, were left when the Congress of Vienna took up the 

states ^ question of forming a confederation to replace the defunct 

Holy Roman Empire. 
Advanta- Second, the external and internal conditions of Prussia had 

of Prussia 10n been so changed as to open the way for it to replace Austria 
as the controlling power in Germany. A great part of the 
Slavic possessions gained in the last two partitions of Poland 
had been lost, but as an indemnity Prussia had received half of 
the kingdom of Saxony, in the very center of Germany, and 
also the Rhine provinces. Prussia now embraced all the various 
types of people included in the German nation and was com- 
paratively free from the presence of non-German races. In 
this respect it offered a marked contrast to the mixture of races 
of its great rival, Austria. 

The internal changes were no less remarkable. The reforms 
carried out after Jena by the distinguished minister Stein and 
his successor, Hardenberg, had done for Prussia somewhat the 
same that the first National Assembly had done for France. 
The abolition of the feudal social castes and the liberation of the 
serfs made the economic development of the country possible. 
The reorganization of the whole military system prepared the 
way for Prussia's great victories in 1866 and 1870, which led 
to the formation of a new German empire under her headship. 
Demand for Third, the agitations of the Napoleonic Period had aroused 
government tne national spirit. The appeal to the people to aid in 
freeing their country from foreign oppression, and the idea 
that they should have a government based upon a written 



Europe after the Congress of Vienna 571 

constitution in which they could participate, had produced wide- 
spread discontent with the old absolute monarchy. 

When the form of union for the German states .came up The German 
for discussion at the Congress of Vienna, two different plans t ion of 18 15 
were advocated. Prussia's representatives submitted a scheme 
for a firm union like that of the United States, in which the 
central government should control the individual states in all 
matters of general interest. This idea was successfully opposed 
by Austria, supported by the other German rulers. Austria 
realized that her possessions, as a whole, could never be 
included in any real German union, for even in the western 
portion of her territory there were many Slavs, while in Hun- 
gary and the southern provinces there were practically no 
Germans at all. On the other hand, she felt that she might 
be the leader in a very loose union in which all the members 
should be left practically independent. Her ideal of an inter- 
national union of sovereign princes under her own headship 
was almost completely realized in the constitution adopted. 

The confederation was not a union of the various countries Character of 
involved, but of "The Sovereign Princes and Free Towns of constitution 
Germany," including the emperor of Austria and the king 
of Prussia for such of their possessions as were formerly 
included in the German empire ; the king of Denmark for 
Holstein ; and the king of the Netherlands for the grand 
duchy of Luxembourg. The union thus included two sover- 
eigns who were out-and-out foreigners, and did not include 
all the possessions of its two most important members. 1 

The diet which met at Frankfort was composed (as was per- 
fectly logical), not of representatives of the people, but of 
the rulers who were members of the confederation. The mem- 
bers reserved to themselves the right of forming alliances of all 
kinds, but pledged themselves to make no agreement prejudicial 
to the safety of the union or of any of its members, or to make 

1 Observe the boundary of the German Confederation as indicated on the 
map, p. 568. 



572 Medieval and Modem Times 

war upon any member of the confederation on any pretense 
whatsoever. The constitution could not be amended without 
the approval of all the governments concerned. In spite of its 
obvious weaknesses, the confederation of 1815 lasted for 
a half a century, until Prussia finally expelled Austria from 
the union by arms, and incorporated the rest of Germany in 
the new German Empire of to-day. 
Disappoint- The liberals in Germany were sadly disappointed that the 

liberals Congress of Vienna had failed to weld Germany into a modern 

national state ; they were also troubled because the king of 
Prussia broke his promise to give Prussia a constitution. But 
Frederick William III was a weak person and had lived through 
such a period of revolutionary disorder that he was quite willing 
to listen to the advice of the Austrian chief minister Metter- 
nich, who hated progress in any form and who had become the 
leader of those who fought all tendencies toward democracy 
and constitutional government. 
The Karlsbad A series of laws, the Karlsbad Resolutions, 1 were passed 
by the German diet, at Metternich's instigation, with the aim of 
suppressing all revolutionary talk in Germany. The professors 
and students were to be watched lest they might be " prop- 
agating harmful doctrines hostile to the public order or sub- 
versive of existing governmental institutions." Moreover, no 
newspaper, magazine, or pamphlet was to go to press without 
the previous approval of government officials, who were to 
determine whether it contained anything tending to foster 
discontent with the government. 
Liberal The attack upon the freedom of the press, and especially 

Germany 11 the interference with the liberty of teaching in the great insti- 
suppressed tutions of learning, which were already becoming the home of 
the highest scholarship in the world, scandalized the progressive 
spirits in Germany. Yet no successful protest was raised, and 

1 So called because Metternich and his sympathizers drafted them at that 
famous watering place. The immediate occasion was the murder, by a student, 
of the man held to be responsible for turning the Tsar from liberal ideas. 



Europe after the Congress of Vienna 



573 



Germany as a whole acquiesced for a generation in Metternich's 
system of discouraging reform of all kinds. 

Nevertheless, important progress was made in southern The southern 
Germany. As early as 1818 the king of Bavaria granted his states receive 
people a constitution in which he stated their rights and XSao™*' 
admitted them to a share in the government by establishing 




SWITZERLAND 



150 200 

Zollverein in_18o4 



i.ater additions 



The Zollverein, or Customs Union 



a parliament. His example was followed within two years 
by the rulers of Baden, Wurttemberg, and Hesse. 

Another change for the better was the gradual formation of Formation 
a customs union, which permitted goods to be sent freely from union^L 
one German state to another without the payment of duties at zollverem— 

r J with Prussia 

each boundary line. This yielded some of the advantages at its head 
of a political union. This economic union, of which Prussia 
was the head, and from which Austria was excluded, was a 
harbinger of the present German Empire. 



574 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Metternich 
opposes revo- 
lutionary 
movements 
in Italy 



Italy only 
" a geograph- 
ical expres- 
sion " in 1820 



Reforms 
introduced 
in Italy 
during the 
Napoleonic 
occupation 



Revolutionary Tendencies in Italy, 18 20-1 848 

116. Metternich had met with signal success in his efforts 
to keep Germany at a standstill. When, in 1820, the kings 
of Spain and Naples were compelled by popular uprisings to 
accept constitutions and so surrender their ancient right to rule 
their subjects despotically, it was but natural that Metternich 
should urge the European powers to unite for the purpose of 
suppressing such manifestations. He urged that revolts of this 
kind set a dangerous example and threatened the tranquillity 
and security of all the other absolute monarchs. 

Italy was at this time what Metternich called only " a 
geographical expression " ; it had no political unity whatever. 
Lombardy and Venetia, in the northern part, were in the 
hands of Austria, and Parma, Modena, and Tuscany belonged 
to members of the Austrian family. In the south, the con- 
siderable kingdom of the Two Sicilies was ruled over by a 
branch of the Spanish Bourbons. In the center, cutting the 
peninsula in twain, were the Papal States, which extended 
north to the Po. The presence of Austria, and the apparent 
impossibility of inducing the pope to submit to any govern- 
ment but his own, seemed to preclude all hope of making Italy 
into a true nation. Yet fifty years later the kingdom of Italy, 
as it now appears on the map of Europe, came into existence 
through the final exclusion of Austria from the peninsula and 
the extinction of the political power of the pope. 

Although Napoleon had governed Italy despotically he had 
introduced a great many important reforms. He had estab- 
lished political equality and an orderly administration, and had 
forwarded public improvements ; the vestiges of the feudal 
re'gime had vanished at his approach. Moreover, he had held 
out the hope of a united Italy, from which the foreign powers 
who had plagued and distracted her for centuries should be 
banished. But his unscrupulous use of Italy to advance his 
personal ambitions disappointed those who at first had placed 



Etirope after the Congress of Vienna . 575 

their hopes in him, and they came to look for his downfall as 
eagerly as did the nobility and the dispossessed clergy, whose 
hopes were centered in Austria. It became clear to the more 
thoughtful Italians that Italy must look to herself and her 
own resources if she were ever to become an independent 
European state. 

The downfall of Napoleon left Italy seemingly in a worse Reaction in 
state than that in which he had found it. The hold of Austria Napokon's 
was strengthened by her acquisition of Venice. The petty downfall 
despots of Parma, Modena, and Tuscany, reseated on their 
thrones by the Congress of Vienna, hastened to sweep away 
the reforms of the Corsican and to reestablish all the abuses 
of the old regime, now doubly conspicuous and obnoxious by 
reason of their temporary abolition. The lesser Italian princes, 
moreover, showed themselves to be heartily in sympathy with 
the hated Austria. Popular discontent spread throughout the 
peninsula and led to the formation of numerous secret societies, 
which assumed strange names, practiced mysterious rites, and 
plotted darkly in the name of Italian liberty and independence. 
By far the most noted of these associations was that of the 
Carbonari ; that is, charcoal burners. Its objects were individual The Carbo- 
liberty, constitutional government, and national independence 
and unity ; these it undertook to promote by agitation, con- 
spiracy, and, if necessary, by revolution. 

The Neapolitans made the first attempt on the part of the Austria 
Italian people to gain constitutional liberty by compelling their |JJ iSy" 68 
king to agree to grant them a constitution (July, 1820). Upon ( I 82i),m sup- 
hearing this terrible news the alert Metternich invited Russia, lutism 
Prussia, France, and England to unite in order to check 
the development of " revolt and crime." He declared that the 
liberal movements, if unrestrained, would prove " not less 
tyrannical and fearful " in their results than that against which 
the allies had combined in the person of Napoleon. Revolution 
appeared to him and his sympathizers as heresy appeared to 
Philip II — it was a fearful disease that not only destroyed 



576 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Hopeful 
signs in Italy 



Mazzini, 
1805-1872 



those whom it attacked directly but spread contagion wherever 
it appeared and justified prompt and sharp measures of quaran- 
tine and even violent intervention with a view of stamping out 
the devastating plague. 

To the great joy of the king of Naples, Austria marched its 
troops into his territory (March, 182 1) and, meeting but an ill- 
organized opposition, freed him from the limitations which his 
subjects had for the moment imposed upon him. An attempt 
on the part of the subjects of the king of Sardinia to win a 
constitution was also repressed by Austrian troops. 

The weakness of the liberal movement in both southern 
and northern Italy appeared to be conclusively demonstrated. 
A new attempt ten years later, in Piedmont, Modena, and 
the Papal States, to get rid of the existing despotism was quite 
as futile as the revolution of 1820-182 1. Yet there were two 
hopeful signs. England protested as early as 1820 against 
Metternich's theory of interfering in the domestic affairs of 
other independent states in order to prevent reforms of which 
he disapproved, and France, on the accession of Louis Philippe 
in 1830, emphatically repudiated the doctrine of intervention. 
A second and far more important indication of progress was 
the increasing conviction on the part of the Italians that their 
country ought to be a single nation and not, as hitherto, a 
group of small independent states under foreign influence. 

A great leader arose in the person of the sensitive and 
highly endowed Mazzini. He quickly became disgusted with 
the inefficiency and the silly mystery of the Carbonari, and 
founded a new association, called Young Italy. This aimed 
to bring about the regeneration of Italy through the education 
of the young men in lofty republican principles. Mazzini had 
no confidence in princes and treaties and foreign aid. " We 
are of the people and will treat with the people. They will 
understand us," he said. He was not the man to organize a 
successful revolution, but he inspired the young Italians with an 
almost religious enthusiasm for the cause of Italy's liberation. 



Europe after the Congress of Vienna 577 

There was a great diversity of opinion among the reformers Plan of 
as to the best way to make Italy into a nation. Mazzini's party under^the^ 
saw no hope except in republican institutions, but others were ofJhepope- 
confident that an enlightened pope could form an Italian federa- 
tion, of which he should be the head. And when Pius IX, Early reforms 
upon his accession in 1846, immediately began to consult the ( p0 pe, 1846- 



interests and wishes of his people by subjecting priests to taxa- 
tion, admitting laymen to his councils and tribunals, granting 



1878) 




Fig. 154. Pius IX 

greater liberty of the press, and even protesting against Aus- 
trian encroachments, there seemed to be some ground for the 
belief that the pope might take the lead in the regeneration of 
Italy. But he soon grew suspicious of the liberals, and the out- 
come furnished one more proof of the sagacity of Machiavelli, 
who had pointed out over three centuries earlier that the tem- 
poral possessions of the pope constituted the chief obstacle to 
Italian unity, 1 

1 See above, p. 228, 



57» 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Reason of 
Austria's 
influence 
after the 
Congress of 
Vienna 



Creation of 
the kingdom 
of Greece, 
1829 



Belgium 
becomes an 
independent 
kingdom 
in 1831 



From 18 1 5 to 1848 those who believed in keeping things 
as they were at any cost were able, under the leadership of 
Metternich, to oppose pretty successfully those who from time 
to time attempted to secure for the people a greater control 
of the government and to satisfy the craving for national life. 
This did not mean, of course, that no progress was made 
during this long period in realizing the ideals of the liberal 
party in the various European states, or that one man can 
block the advance of nations for a generation. The very fact 
that Austria had, after the Congress of Vienna, assumed the 
leading role in Europe which France had played during the 
period following the Revolution of 1789, is a sufficient in- 
dication that Metternich's aversion to change corresponded to 
a general conviction that it was best, for the time being, to let 
well enough alone. 

Two events, at least, during the period of Metternich's influ- 
ence served to encourage the liberals of Europe. In 182 1 
the inhabitants of Greece had revolted against the oppressive 
government of the Turks. The Turkish government set to 
work to suppress the revolt by atrocious massacres. It is 
said that twenty thousand of the inhabitants of the island of 
Chios were slaughtered. The Greeks, however, succeeded in 
arousing the sympathy of western Europe, and they held out 
until England, Russia, and France intervened and forced the 
Sultan to recognize the independence of Greece in 1829. 

Another little kingdom was added to the European states 
by the revolt of the former Austrian Netherlands from the king 
of Holland, to whom they had been assigned by the Congress 
of Vienna. The southern Netherlands were still as different 
from the northern as they had been in the time of William the 
Silent. 1 Holland was Protestant and German, while the south- 
ern provinces, to whom the union had always been distasteful, 
were Catholic and akin to the French in their sympathies. 
Encouraged by the revolution at Paris in 1830, the people of 

1 See above, p. 332. 



Etirope after the Congress of Vienna 5 79 

Brussels rose in revolt against their Dutch king, and forced 
his troops to leave the city. Through the influence of Eng- 
land and France the European powers agreed to recognize the 
independence of the Belgians, who established a kingdom and 
introduced an excellent constitution providing for a limited 
monarchy modeled upon that of England. The neutrality of 
Belgium was solemnly guaranteed by the European powers, 
but this did not save it from becoming their battleground 
in 19 1 4. 

In Spain the despotism of the restored Ferdinand VII 
brought a revolution in 1820, which the French troops of 
Louis XVIII savagely repressed. But the Spanish- American 
colonies, which had freed themselves during Napoleon's rule, 
were saved from a similar repression by the threats of England 
and America (see below, p. 724). 

QUESTIONS 

Section 113. Upon what points did the Congress of Vienna 
easily agree? Upon what two points was there serious discord? 
What have been the main changes in the map of Europe during 
the hundred years following the settlement at Vienna ? 

Section 114. Who were the Bourbons, and how did they come 
to sit on the throne both in France and in Spain? What was the 
Charter of 181 4? Give the French monarchs from Henry IV to 
Louis Philippe. Contrast Charles X with Louis XVIII. 

Section 115. What were the chief results of the Napoleonic 
Period in Germany? How was Prussia strengthened as a result of 
Napoleon's intervention in Germany ? Describe the German Con- 
federation of 181 5. Who was Metternich, and what were his views? 
What were the Karlsbad Resolutions ? Do you think that the gov- 
ernment ought to prevent criticism of its policy? 

Section 116. Of what states was Italy composed after 181 5? 
Who were in favor of a united Italy ? What were the chief obstacles 
in the way of union ? How did the pope come to be the ruler of an 
Italian state? Who was Mazzini? Explain why Metternich was able 
to oppose successfully the tendencies toward revolution. What two 
new kingdoms were added to the map between 181 5 and 1848? 
What do you understand by neutrality ? 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 

Invention of Machinery for Spinning and 
Weaving 

The Indus- 117. In the preceding chapters we have reviewed the startling 

tion due to changes and reforms introduced by the leaders of the French 
mechanical Revolution and by Napoleon Bonaparte, and the reconstruction 

inventions J r r ' 

of Europe at the Congress of Vienna. These were mainly the 
work of statesmen, warriors, and diplomats — who have cer- 
tainly done their part in making Europe what it is to-day. But 
a still more fundamental revolution than that which has been 
described had begun in England before the meeting of the 
Estates General. 

The chief actors in this never stirred an assembly by their 
fiery denunciation of abuses, or led an army to victory, or con- 
ducted a clever diplomatic negotiation. On the contrary, their 
attention was concentrated upon the homely operations of every- 
day life — the housewife drawing out her thread with distaff or 
spinning wheel, the slow work of the weaver at his primitive 
loom, the miner struggling against the water which threatened 
to flood his mine. They busied themselves perseveringly with 
wheels, cylinders, bands, and rollers, patiently combining and 
recombining them, until, after many discouragements, they 
made discoveries destined to alter the habits, ideas, and prospects 
of the great mass of the people far more profoundly than all 
the edicts of the National Assembly and all the conquests of 
Napoleon taken together. 

The Greeks and Romans, notwithstanding their refined civi- 
lization, had, as has been pointed out, shown slight aptitude for 

580 



The Industrial Revolution 



5 8i 



mechanical invention, and little had been added to their stock 
of human appliances before the middle of the eighteenth century. 
Up to that time the people of western Europe for the most 
part continued to till their fields, weave their cloth, and saw and 
plane their boards by hand, much as the ancient Egyptians had 
done. Merchandise was still transported in slow, lumbering 
carts, and letters were as long in passing from London to Rome 
as in the reign of Constantine. 
Could a peasant, a smith, or a 
weaver of the age of Caesar 
Augustus have visited France or 
England eighteen hundred years 
later, he would have recognized 
the familiar flail, forge, distaff, 
and hand loom of his own day. 

Suddenly, however, a series 
of ingenious devices were in- 
vented, which in a few genera- 
tions eclipsed the achievements 
of ages and revolutionized every 
branch of business. This Indus- 
trial Revolution serves to explain 
the w r orld in which we live, with 
its busy cities, its gigantic factories 
filled with complicated machinery, 
its commerce and vast fortunes, 
its trade-unions and labor parties, its bewildering variety of plans 
for bettering the lot of the great mass of the people. This story 
of mechanical invention is in no way inferior in importance to 
the more familiar history of kings, parliaments, wars, treaties, 
and constitutions. 

The revolution in manufacture which has taken place in the 
last hundred and fifty years can be illustrated by the improve- 
ment in making cloth, which is so necessary to our comfort and 
welfare. In order to produce cloth one must first spin (that is, 



Few new 
inventions 
added to the 
old stock 
before the 
eighteenth 
century 




Fig. 155. Distaff and 
Spindle 



Improve- 
ments in 
spinning and 
weaving 



582 



Medieval and Modern Times 



twist) the wool, cotton, or flax into thread ; then by means of a 
loom the thread can be woven into a fabric. A simple way of 
spinning thread was discovered thousands of years ago, but it 
was possible by the old methods for a person to make only a 
single thread at a time. 1 By 1767 James Hargreaves, an Eng- 
lish spinner, invented what was called a spinning jenny, which 
enabled a single workman, by turning a wheel, to spin eight 
or ten threads at once, and thus do the work of eight or ten 
spinners. A year later a barber, Richard Arkwright, patented 
a device for drawing out thread by means of rollers, and made 

a large fortune — 
for his time — by 
establishing a great 
factory filled with 
power-driven ma- 
chines. In 1779 
Samuel Crompton 
made a happy com- 
bination of Har- 
greaves's spinning 
jenny and Ark- 
wright's roller ma- 
chine, which was 
called the mule. Before the end of the eighteenth century, 
machines spinning two hundred threads simultaneously had 
been invented, and as they were driven by power and required 
only one or two watchers, the hand workers could by no means 
compete with them. Such inventions as these produced the 
factory system of manufacture. 

1 The hand spinner had bunches of wool, which had been combed into loose 
curls, on the end of a stick, or distaff, and then pulled and twisted this with her 
fingers into a yarn, which she wound on the spindle. By whirling the spindle 
around she could help twist. The spinning wheel was invented to give a better 
twist to the spindle. It was used by our great-grandmothers, and became common 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By means of the spinning wheel it 
was possible in some cases for one person to make two threads, one in one hand 
and the other in the other. 




Fig. 156. The First Spinning Jenny 



The Industrial Revolution 



583 



The enormous output of thread and yarn on these new The power 
machines made the weavers dissatisfied with the clumsy old cottongin 
hand loom, which had been little changed for many centuries 
until the eighteenth century. At length, in 1784, Dr. Cart- 
wright, a clergyman of Kent, patented a new loom, which auto- 
matically threw the shuttle and shifted the weft. This machine 
was steadily improved during the nineteenth century until now 




Fig. 157. Spinning Mule 

This huge frame is in principle much like Hargreaves's, though now 

the long row of spindles — which the boy is touching — moves in and 

out instead of the spinner with the wool. The combed wool is held on 

the frame behind, to be pulled out and spun from the spindle tops 



a single machine watched by one workman can do as much 
weaving in a day as two hundred weavers could do with old- 
fashioned hand looms. Other inventions followed. The time 
required for bleaching was reduced from several months to a 
few days by the use of acids, instead of relying principally 
upon the sunlight. In 1792 Eli Whitney, in the United States, 
invented a power " gin," which enabled one man to take the 
seeds out of over a thousand pounds of cotton a day instead of 
five or six pounds, which had been the limit for the hand worker. 



584 Medieval and Modern Times 

The effect of these inventions in increasing the amount of 
cloth manufactured was astonishing. In 1764 England im- 
ported only about four million pounds of raw cotton, but by 
1 841 she was using nearly five hundred million pounds annually. 
At the close of the Napoleonic wars Robert Owen, a distin- 
guished manufacturer and philanthropist (see below), declared 



, 




Fig. 158. Richard Arkwright 

that his two thousand workmen at New Lanark could do as 
much work with the new machinery which had been invented dur- 
ing the past forty years as all the operators of Scotland could 
do without it. 

The Steam Engine 



iron and 118. In order that inventions could further develop and 

sary for the become widely useful, two things were necessary : In the first 

of mach^ery place ' there must be available a sufficiently strong material 

out of which to construct the machinery, and for this purpose 



The Indttstrial Revolution 



585 



iron and steel have, with few exceptions, proved the most sat- 
isfactory. In the second place, some adequate power had to 
be found to propel the machinery, which is ordinarily too heavy 
to be run by hand or foot. Of course windmills were common, 
and waterfalls and running streams had long been used to 
turn water wheels, but these forces were too restricted and 
uncertain to suffice for 
the rapid development 
of machinery which re- 
sulted from the begin- 
nings we have described. 
Consequently while Ark- 
wright, Hargreaves, and 
Crompton were success- 
fully solving the prob- 
lem of new methods 
of spinning and weav- 
ing, other inventors 
were improving the ways 
of melting and forging 
iron for the machines 
and of using steam to 
run them. 

Although iron had 
been used for tools, 
weapons, and armor for 
hundreds of years, the 
processes of reducing 
the iron from the ore 

and of working it up were very crude. It was not until 1750 
that coal began to be used instead of charcoal for melting, or 
softening, the metal. The old-fashioned bellows gave way to 
new ways of producing the blast necessary for melting iron, and 
steam hammers were invented to pound out the iron instead of 
doing it by hand. 




Fig. 159. 



Newcomen's Steam 
Engine 



Newcomen's steam engines were run by 
condensing the steam in the cylinder {a) 
by cold water {g), so that the air on the 
piston (s) pressed it down on the vacuum. 
Watt covered both ends of the cylinder 
and used steam instead of air to push 
the piston 



586 Medieval and Modern Times 

Watt im- Contrary to popular impression, James Watt did not invent 

steamVngine tne steam engine. Important parts of the engine — the boiler, 
the cylinder, and the piston — had been invented before he 
was born, and crude engines had been employed for a long time 
in pumping water. Indeed, Watt's interest in the steam engine 
seems to have been awakened first during the winter of 1763- 
1764, when, as an instrument maker in Glasgow, he was called 
upon to repair the model of a steam engine which had been 






Fig. 160. James Watt 

invented sixty years before by an ingenious mechanic named 
Newcomen. Watt, however, was a brilliant and industrious 
experimenter, and, building upon the work of Newcomen and 
other men, he was able to make the steam engine a practical 
machine for furnishing power to the new factories. In 1785 
the steam engine was first applied to run spinning machinery in 
a factory in Nottinghamshire. Arkwright adopted it in 1790, 
and by the end of the century steam engines were becoming as 
common as wind and water mills. 



The Industrial Revolution 587 

England was the first country to develop the modern use of The Indus- 
machinery for manufacturing. It was not until after the estab- tion in France 
lishment of peace in 18 15 that the Industrial Revolution really 
began in France. Napoleon endeavored to foster and protect 
French industries and stimulate the employment of machinery 
in manufacturing ; but in spite of his best efforts, French indus- 
try remained in a backward state. On the eve of his downfall 
there was only one small steam engine employed in French in- 
dustry — at a cotton factory in Alsace ; but by 1847 France had 
nearly five thousand steam engines with a capacity of" sixty thou- 
sand horse power. Germany was also much behind England. 

The consumption of raw cotton was multiplied fivefold in 
thirty years, and in 1847 there were over one hundred thousand 
spinning machines with three and a half million spindles at work. 
By 1848 France had many important manufacturing centers. 
Paris alone had three hundred and forty-two thousand working 
people, and other cities, such as Lyons, Marseilles, Lille, Bor- 
deaux, and Toulouse, had their great factories and whole quar- 
ters peopled by factory laborers. And the working class had 
begun by that time to form unions and organize strikes against 
their employers for the purpose of increasing wages and reducing 
the hours of labor. 



Capitalism and the Factory System 

119. Having seen how machinery was introduced into Eng- The "domes- 
land in the latter part of the eighteenth century and how steam of industry 1 
came to be utilized as a motive power, we have now to consider 
the important results of these inventions in changing the con- 
ditions under which people lived and worked. Up to this time 
the term " manufacture " still meant, as it did in the original 
Latin (manu facere), " to make by hand." Artisans carried on 
trades with their own tools in their own homes or in small shops, 
as the cobbler does to-day. Instead of working with hundreds 
of others in great factories and being entirely dependent upon 



588 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Growth of 
great manu- 
facturing 
towns 



Appearance 
of a capitalist 
class 



The workman 
becomes 
dependent 
upon the 
capitalist 



Women and 
children in 
the factories 



his wages, a workman, in England at least, was often able to 
give some attention to a small garden plot, from which he de- 
rived a part of his support. This old method of manufacture is 
known as the domestic system. For example, the cutlers of 
Sheffield (already famous in Chaucer's day) lived in cottages 
with small plots of land around them, and in dull seasons, or 
to change their occupation, engaged in gardening. 

The " factory system " put an end to all this.. The workmen 
now had to live near their work ; long rows of houses, without 
gardens or even grassplots, were hastily built around the fac- 
tory buildings, and thus the ugly tenement districts of our cities 
came into existence. 

This great revolution in the methods of manufacturing pro- 
duced also a sharp distinction between two classes of men in- 
volved. There were, on the one hand, the capitalists who owned 
the buildings and all the mechanism, and, on the other, the 
wo7'kmen whom they hired to operate the machines. The work- 
ingman necessarily became dependent upon the few who were 
rich enough to set up factories. He could no longer earn a live- 
lihood in the old way by conducting a small shop to suit himself. 
The capitalist owned and controlled the necessary machinery, 
and so long as there were plenty of workmen seeking employ- 
ment in order to earn their daily bread, the owner could fix a 
low wage and long hours. While an individual employee of 
special ability might himself become a capitalist, the ordinary 
workman would have to remain a workman. 

The destruction of the domestic system of industry had also 
a revolutionary effect upon the work and the lives of women 
and children. In all except the heaviest of the mechanical 
industries, such as ironworking or shipbuilding, the introduc- 
tion of simple machines tended greatly to increase the num- 
ber of women and children employed compared with the men. 1 



1 For example, in the textile industry in England during the fifty years from 
184 1 to 1 89 1, the number of males employed increased fifty-three per cent, and 
the number of females two hundred and twenty-one per cent. 



The Industrial Revolution 589 

Before the invention of the steam engine, when the simpl'e 
machines were worked by hand, children could be employed 
only in some of the minor processes, such as preparing the 
cotton for spinning. But in the modern factory, labor is largely 
confined to watching machines, piecing broken threads, and 
working levers, so that both women and children can be utilized 
as effectively as men, and much more cheaply. 

Doubtless the women were by no means idle under the old The Indus- 
system of domestic industry, but their tasks were varied and ^ n re h^ves 
performed at home, whereas under the new system they .must s ° m £ ™ omen 
flock to the factory at the call of the whistle and labor monot- former duties 
onously at a speed set by the foreman. This led to many 
grave abuses which, as we shall see, the State had been called 
upon to remedy by factory legislation, which has served to save 
the women and children from some of the worst hardships, 
although a great deal still remains to be done. 

The Industrial Revolution, in addition to changing the old Effect of the 
methods of living, traveling, and working, gave an entirely new Revolution on 
direction to European politics and to theories of government governments 

r r & and politics 

and industry. The two great classes created by the Industrial 
Revolution — namely, the capitalist class and the working 
class — each entered politics on its own account, and each 
had a theory of government. 

The capitalists and business classes maintained that the gov- The capitai- 
ernment should not attempt to regulate the prices of goods or economy 1Ca 
their quality. Neither should it interfere with the employer and 
his workmen, except to protect either from violence ; it should 
not fix the hours of work or the conditions in the factories. 
Prices, they maintained, would be kept down by competition 
among the manufacturers, and wages would be fixed by the 
supply and demand. Every one should have the greatest free- 
dom to do what he was able to do. If he was a person of 
ability he would prosper ; if he had no special ability he could 
only hope to get the wages that the employer found it ad- 
vantageous to pay him. 



59Q 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Sad results of 
the Industrial 
Revolution 



Attempts to 
secure laws 
to help the 
working 
classes 



Origin of 
trade-unions 



* The chief trouble with this political economy was that it did 
not work well in practice. On the contrary, the great manu- 
facturing cities, instead of being filled with happy and prosper- 
ous people, became the homes of a small number of capitalists 
who had grown rich as the owners and directors of the factories 
and multitudes of poor working people with no other resources 
than their wages, which were often not enough to keep their 
families from starvation. Little children under nine years of 
age working from twelve to fifteen hours a day and women 
forced to leave their homes to tend the machines in the fac- 
tories were now replacing the men workers. After their long 
day's work they returned to miserable tenements in which 
they were forced to live. 

After the close of the Napoleonic wars as things got worse 
rather than better, there were increasing signs of discontent in 
England. This led to various attempts to improve matters. On 
the one hand there were those who hoped to secure reforms by 
extending the right to vote, in order that the working classes 
might be represented in Parliament and so have laws passed 
to remedy the worst evils at least. In this movement some of 
the wealthier class often joined, but the working people were 
naturally chiefly interested and they embodied their ideas of 
reform in a great " people's charter," which is described below 
in Chapter XXXI. 

In addition to this attempt to secure reform by political 
action, the workingmen formed unions of their own in the 
various trades and industries, in order to protect themselves by 
dealing in a body with their employers. This trade-union 
movement is one of the most important things in modern 
times. It began in the early part of the nineteenth century. 1 
At first the formation of unions was forbidden by English law, 



1 The craft guilds described in a previous chapter (see above, pp. 44 S f.) some- 
what resembled modern labor unions, but they included both capitalists and 
laborers. Our labor unions did not grow out of the medieval guilds but were 
organized to meet conditions that resulted from the Industrial Revolution. 



The Industrial Revolution 591 

and it was regarded as a crime for workingmen to combine 
together to raise wages. Men were sentenced to imprisonment 
or deportation as convicts because they joined such " combina- 
tions," or unions. In 1824 Parliament repealed this harsh law, 
and trade-unions increased rapidly. They were hampered, how- 
ever, by various restrictions, and even now, although they have 
spread widely all over the world, people are by no means agreed 
as to whether workingmen's unions are the best means of 
improving the conditions of the laboring classes. 

The third general plan for permanently bettering the situation Socialism 
of the working people is what is known as socialism. As this 
has played a great role in the history of Europe during the past 
fifty years we must stop to examine the meaning of this word. 



The Rise of Socialism 

120. Socialism teaches that "the means of production" The social 
should belong to society and not be held as the private property J^means of 
of individuals. " The means of production " is a very vague P roductlon 
phrase, and might include farms and gardens as well as tools ; 
but when the socialist uses it he is generally thinking of the 
machines which the Industrial Revolution has brought into the 
world and the factories and mines which house and keep them 
going as well as the railroads and steamships which carry their 
goods. In short, the main idea of the socialists is that the great 
industries which have arisen as a result of the Industrial Revo- 
lution should not be left in private hands. They claim that it 
is not right for the capitalists to own the mills upon which the 
workingman must depend for his living; that the attempt of 
labor unions to get higher wages does not offer more than a 
temporary relief, since the system is wrong which permits the 
wealthy to have such a control over the poor. The person who 
works for wages, say the socialists, is not free ; he is a " wage 
slave " of his employer. The way to remedy this is to turn 
over the great industries of the capitalists to national, state, or 



592 



Medieval a?id Modern Times 



The early 
socialists 



Later social- 
ism a working- 
class move- 
ment 



Karl Marx 



local ownership, so that all should have a share in the profits. 
This ideal state of society, which, they say, is sure to come in 
the future, they call the Cooperative Commonwealth. 

The first socialists relied on the kind hearts of the capitalists 
to bring the change, once the situation was made clear. Of 
these early socialists the most attractive figure was Robert 
Owen, a rich British mill owner, who had much influence in 
England in the period of hard times after Waterloo. To him, 
probably, is due the word " socialism." 

Modern socialists, however, regard these early socialists as 
dreamers and their methods as impracticable. They do not 
think that the rich will ever, from pure unselfishness, give up 
their control over industries. So they turn to working people 
only, point out the great advantage to them of socialism, and 
call upon them to bring it about in the face of the opposition 
of the capitalists. They claim that wealth is produced by labor, 
for which capital but furnishes the opportunity, and that labor 
is justified in taking what it produces. 1 

The great teacher of this modern doctrine of socialism was 
Karl Marx, a German writer who lived most of his life in Lon- 
don. He was a learned man, trained in philosophy and political 
economy, and he came to the conclusion from a study of history 
that just as the middle class or capitalists 2 had replaced feudal 
nobles, so the working class would replace the capitalists in the 
future. By the working class he meant those who depend upon 
their work for a living. The introduction of the factory system 
had reduced the vast majority of artisans to a position in which 
the capitalist was able to dictate the conditions upon which this 
work should be done. Marx, in an eloquent appeal to them in 
1847, 3 called upon the members of this "proletariat," "who 

1 This does not mean that socialists would divide up all private property. 
Socialists claim only that there shall be no unearned wealth in private hands, con- 
trolling, as now, the industries of the country. Brain workers are also " workers." 

2 The French term bourgeoisie is often used by socialists for this class. 

3 The Communist Manifesto, written jointly with Frederick Engels. Marx 
used the word " communism " to distinguish his plan from the socialism of Owen 
and the " dreamers " who looked to capitalists to help. 



The Industrial Revolution 593 

have nothing to lose but their chains," to rise and seize the 
means of production themselves. His appeal had no effect at 
the time, but it has been an inspiration to later generations 
of socialists. 

Modern, or "Marxian," socialism is therefore a movement Socialism and 
of the working class. As such, it must be viewed as part of 



democracy 




Fig. 161. Karl Marx 1 

the history of democracy. It is never satisfied with partial re- 
forms so long as the conditions remain which make possible 
the control of the work of one man by another for the latter's 
benefit. So it insists that the workers shall keep one aim clearly 

1 Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Treves, reared in an enlightened home, and 
educated at the universities of Bonn and Berlin. He had early decided upon 
the career of a university professor, but the boldness of his speech and his rad- 
ical tendencies barred his way and consequently he entered journalism. His 
attacks on the Prussian government led to the suppression of his paper in 1843, 
and he soon migrated to Paris. He was, however, expelled from France, and 
after some wanderings he finally settled in London, where he studied and wrote 
until his death in 1883. 



594 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



Socialism in 
international 
movement 



in mind and not be drawn into other political parties until the 
Cooperative Commonwealth is gained. 

There is one other important element in socialism. It is inter- 
national. It regards the cause of workers in different countries 
as a common cause against a common oppressor — capitalism. 
In this way socialism was a force for peace between nations 
until the war of 19 14. 



QUESTIONS 

Section 117. What do you understand by the "Industrial Revo- 
lution "? What is spinning? weaving ? Give some account of the way 
in which our modern way of spinning and weaving by machinery 
grew up. 

Section i i 8. What conditions were necessary for the development 
of modern machinery? Do you understand just what makes a steam 
engine run ? When did steam engines begin to be used in factories ? 

Section 119. What was the domestic system of industry? What 
is the principle of the factory system ? Give all the results you can 
of the introduction of machinery and the growth of factories. What 
do you understand by " capital " ? Contrast the theories of the 
capitalist with those of the factory hand. Why were trade-unions 
formed? Why do some business men oppose them? 

Section 120. Describe the theories of the socialists of the first 
half of the nineteenth century. Why do modern socialists regard 
these theories as impracticable? Who was Karl Marx? What 
advantages do the socialists claim would come if our present 
system were abolished? Why do a great many people fear and 
hate the socialists? 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1848 AND THEIR RESULTS 

The Second Republic and Second Empire 
in France 

121. In 1848 the gathering discontent and the demand for The general 
reform suddenly showed their full strength and extent ; it seemed movement" 7 
for a time as if all western Europe was about to undergo as com- J? u ^Q S g ern 
plete a revolution as France had experienced in 1789. With in 1848 
one accord, and as if obeying a preconcerted signal, the liberal 
parties in France, Italy, Germany, and Austria, during the early 
months of 1848, gained control of the government and pro- 
ceeded to carry out their program of reform in the same thor- 
oughgoing way in which the National Assembly in France had 
done its work in 1789. The general movement affected almost 
every state in Europe, but the course of events in France, and 
in that part of central Europe which had so long been domi- 
nated by Metternich and Austria, merits especial attention. 

In France there were various causes of discontent with the Unpopularity 
government of Louis Philippe. The Charter of 18 14 had been Philippe 
only slightly modified after the Revolution of 1830, in spite of ^ubficans 
the wishes of the republicans who had been active in bringing 
about the deposition of Charles X. They maintained that the 
king had too much power and could influence the French parlia- 
ment to make laws contrary to the wishes of the people at large. 
They also protested against the laws which excluded the poorer 
classes from voting (only two hundred thousand among a popu- 
lation of thirty million enjoyed that right), and demanded that 
every Frenchman should have the right to vote so soon as he 
reached maturity. As Louis Philippe grew older he became 

595 



596 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The second 

French 

republic 

proclaimed, 

February 27 

1848 



more and more suspicious of the liberal parties which had 
helped him to his throne. He not only opposed reforms him- 
self but also did all he could to keep the parliament and the 
newspapers from advocating any changes which the progres- 
sive parties demanded. 
Nevertheless, the strength 
of the republicans gradu- 
ally increased. They 
found allies in the new 
group of socialistic writ- 
ers who desired a fun- 
damental reorganization 
of the State (see previous 
chapter). 

On February 2 4, 1 8 48, 
a mob attacked theTuile- 
ries. The king abdicated 
in favor of his grandson, 
but it was too late ; he 
and his whole family 
were forced to leave the 
country. The mob in- 
vaded the Assembly, as 
in the time of the Reign 
of Terror, crying, " Down 
with the Bourbons, old 
and new ! Long live the 
Republic ! " A provi- 
sional government was 
established which included the poet and historian Lamartine, 
Louis Blanc, a prominent socialist, two or three editors, and 
several other politicians. The first decree of this body, ratifying 
the establishment of a French republic, was solemnly proclaimed 
on the former site of the Bastille, February 27. Thus the 
second French Republic came into existence. 




Fig. 162. Conflict between Work- 
ingmen and the troops in paris, 
June, 1848 



The Revolutions of 1848 and their Results 597 

The provisional government was scarcely in session before The social 
it was threatened by the "red republic." Its representatives, a ndthe"red 
the social democrats, desired to put the laboring classes in con- re P ubhc " 
trol of the government, let them conduct it in their own in- 
terests, and wished to substitute the red flag * for the national 
colors. The government went so far as to concede the so-called National 
"right to labor" — that is, the duty of the government to established 
see that every one had work. National workshops were estab- 
lished, in which all the unemployed were given an opportunity 
to work. 

A National Assembly had been convoked whose members The insurrec- 
were elected by the votes of all Frenchmen above the age of j un e, 1848 ' 
twenty-one. Since the majority of Frenchmen were country 
people who were not interested in the victims of the factory 
system, the result of the election was an overwhelming defeat 
for the social democrats. Their leaders then attempted to 
overthrow the new Assembly on the pretext that it did not 
represent the people; but the national guard frustrated the 
attempt. The number of men now enrolled in the national 
workshops had reached one hundred and seventeen thou- 
sand, each of whom received two francs a day in return 
for either useless labor or mere idleness. No serious attempt 
was made to make the experiment pay, and it was abolished 
in June. The result was a terrific battle in the streets of Paris 
for three days, June 23-25, and over ten thousand persons 
were killed. 2 

This desperate outbreak of the forces of revolution resulted Louis Napo- 

.... . . -11 l eon elected 

m a general conviction that a strong hand was essential to the president 
maintenance of peace. The new constitution decreed that the 
president of the republic should be chosen by the people at large. 
Their choice fell upon the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, 

1 Socialists use red as a symbol of their appreciation of the common blood of 
the brotherhood of man. 

2 One can gather some idea of the suffering of the working class in Paris owing 
to the new industrial system when one realizes that more people perished in this 
struggle for the red republic than in the whole Reign of Terror. 



59 8 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Establish- 
ment of 
the Second 
Empire, 1852 



Louis Napoleon, who had already made two futile attempts 
to make himself the ruler of France. Before the expira- 
tion of his four years' term he succeeded, by a coup d'etat 
(December 2, 185 1), in setting up a new government. He 
next obtained, by means of a plebiscite, 1 the consent of the 
people to his remaining president for ten years. A year later 




Fig. 163. Napoleon 111- 

(1852) the Second Empire was established, and Napoleon III 
became " Emperor of the French by the grace of God and 
the will of the people." 



1 See above, p. 534. 

2 Few monarchs of Europe have had such a romantic career as this nephew 
of Napoleon I. An exile, a conspirator against Louis Philippe, prisoner of state, 
escaping to return and to be elected President of the Second Republic, he was 
one of the shrewdest politicians of the nineteenth century. As emperor, he 
gratified French pride with beautiful buildings and other showy public works, 
but the " Napoleonic tradition " of glory kept involving him in foreign wars 
which mostly turned out badly fofr France and finally led to his own overthrow. 
See below, p. 620. 



The Revolutions of 1 8 4.8 and their Results 599 

The Revolution of 1848 in Austria, Germany, 
and Italy 

122. When Metternich heard of the February Revolution of Austria's 
1848 in France, he declared that " Europe finds herself to-day poStion in 
in the presence of a second 1793." This was not true, however. c ^^ 
It was no longer necessary for France to promote liberal ideas 
by force of arms, as in 1793. For sixty years ideas of reform 
had been spreading in Europe, and by the year 1848 they 
were accepted by a great majority of the people, from Berlin 
to Palermo. The Europe of 1848 was no longer the Europe 
of 1793. 

The overthrow of Louis Philippe encouraged the opponents Position of 
of Metternich in Germany, Austria, and Italy to attempt to 
make an end of his system at once and forever. In view of 
the important part that Austria had played in central Europe 
since the fall of Napoleon I, it was inevitable that she should 
appear the chief barrier to the attainment of national unity and 
liberal government in Italy and Germany. As ruler of Lom- 
bardy and Yenetia she practically controlled Italy, and as pre- 
siding member of the German Confederation she had been able 
to keep even Prussia in line. It is not strange that Austria 
felt that she could make no concessions to the spirit of nation- 
ality, for the territories belonging to the house of Hapsburg, 
some twenty in number, were inhabited by four different races 
■ — Germans, Slavs, Hungarians, and Italians. 1 The Slavs (espe- 
cially the Bohemians) and the Hungarians longed for national 
independence, as well as the Italians. 

On March 13 the populace of Vienna rose in revolt against Overthrow of 
their old-fashioned government. Metternich fled, and all his March, 1848 
schemes for opposing reform appeared to have come to naught. 
Before the end of the month the helpless Austrian emperor 
had given his permission to the kingdoms of Hungary and 

^ ! See above, p. 423, and map, p. 738, below. 



6oo 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Beginning 
of Italian 
war of inde- 
pendence 



The liberal 
movement 
in Germany 
in 1848 



Frederick 
William IV 
(1840-1861) 
of Prussia 
takes the 
lead in the 
reform move- 
ment in 
Germany 



Bohemia to draw up constitutions for themselves incorporating 
the longed-for reforms (equality of all classes in the matter of 
taxation, religious freedom, liberty of the press, and the rest) 
and providing that each country should have a parliament of its 
own, which should meet annually. The Austrian provinces, 
however, showed no desire to throw off their allegiance to 
the Austrian ruler. 

Austria's possessions in northern Italy naturally took this 
favorable opportunity to revolt against the hated " Germans." 
Immediately on the news of Metternich's fall the Milanese ex- 
pelled the Austrian troops from their city, and soon Austria was 
forced to evacuate a great part of Lombardy. The Venetians 
followed the lead of Milan and set up a republic once more. 
The Milanese, anticipating a struggle, appealed to Charles 
Albert, king of Sardinia, for aid. By this time a great part of 
Italy was in revolt. Constitutions were granted to Naples, 
Rome, Tuscany, and Piedmont by their rulers. The king of 
Sardinia was forced by public opinion to assume the leadership 
in the attempt to expel Austria from Italy and ultimately, per- 
haps, to found some sort of an Italian union which should satisfy 
the longings for national unity. The Pope and even the Bourbon 
king of Naples were induced to consent to the arming and dis- 
patch of troops in the cause of Italian freedom, and Italy began 
its first war for independence. 

The crisis at home and the Italian war made it impossible for 
Austria to prevent the progress of revolution in Germany. The 
opportunity seemed to have come, now that Austria was hope- 
lessly embarrassed, to reorganize the German Confederation. 

The king of Prussia, seeing his opportunity, suddenly reversed 
his policy of obedience to the dictates of Austria, and deter- 
mined to take the lead in Germany. He agreed to summon 
an assembly to draw up a constitution for Prussia. Moreover, 
a great national assembly was convoked at Frankfort, com- 
posed of many of the most distinguished Germans of the day, 
to draft a constitution for Germany at large. 



March, 



The Revolutions of 1 8 4.8 and their Results 601 

By the end of March, 1848, the prospects of reform were Bright 
bright indeed. Hungary and Bohemia had been guaranteed f2 c ^ of 
constitutional independence ; Lombardy and Venetia had de- 
clared their independence of Austria ; four Italian states had 
obtained their longed-for constitutions, and all were ready for a 
war with Austria; Prussia was promised a constitution, and 
lastly, the national assembly at Frankfort was about to prepare 
a constitution for a united Germany. 



Outcome of the Revolution of i 

123. For the moment Austria's chief danger lay in Italy, Defeat of 
which was the only one of her dependencies that had actually un der Charles 
taken up arms against her. The Italians had, however, been Albert of 
unable to drive the Austrian army out of Italy. Under the July, 1848 
indomitable general Radetzky it had taken refuge in the 
neighborhood of Mantua, where it was protected by four great 
fortresses. Charles Albert of Sardinia found himself, with the 
exception of a few volunteers, almost unsupported by the other 
Italian states. The best ally of Austria was the absence of 
united action upon the part of the Italians, and the jealousy 
and indifference that they showed as soon as war had actually 
begun. The pope, Pius IX, decided that his mission was one 
of peace and that he could not afford to join in a war against 
Austria, the stoutest ally of the Roman Church. The Bourbon 
king of Naples easily found a pretext for recalling the troops 
that public opinion had compelled him to send to the aid of the 
king of Sardinia. Charles Albert was defeated at Custozza, 
July 25, and compelled to sign a truce with Austria and 
withdraw his forces from Lombardy. 

The Italian republicans did not like kings, of course, and Policy of the 
had no confidence in Charles Albert. So they went ahead republicans 
regardless of him. Florence, as well as Venice, proclaimed 
itself a republic. The pope fled from Rome and put himself 
under the protection of the king of Naples. A constitutional 



602 



Medieval a,7id Modern Times 



Hostility 
between the 
Germans and 
Czechs in 
Bohemia 



The Pan- 
Slavic Con- 
gress of 1848 



Beginnings 
of revolt in 
Bohemia 
suppressed, 
June 18, 1848 



The Slavic 
peoples revolt 
against' 
Hungary 



assembly was then convoked by the revolutionists, and under 
the influence of Mazzini, in February, 1849, it declared the 
temporal power of the pope abolished and proclaimed a 
Roman republic. 

Meanwhile the conditions in Austria began to be favorable 
to a reestablishment of the emperor's former influence. Race 
rivalry defeated the reform movement in the Austrian domains 
just as republicanism stood in the way of the success of the 
Italian revolt. Each of the various peoples under Austrian rule 
determined to make itself largely independent, and great was 
the confusion that ensued. 

The Czechs 1 in Bohemia hated the Germans in 1848, as 
they had hated them ever since they came under the Haps- 
burgs. The German part of the population naturally opposed 
the plan of making Bohemia practically independent of the 
government at Vienna, for it was to German Vienna that they 
were wont to look for protection against the enterprises of 
their Czechish fellow countrymen. 

The Czechs determined to summon a Pan- Slavic Congress, 
which should bring together the various Slavic peoples com- 
prised in the Austrian empire. To this assembly, which met 
in Prague in June, 1848, came delegates from the Czechs, 
Moravians, Ruthenians, and Poles in the north, and the Ser- 
vians and Croatians in the south. Its deliberations were inter- 
rupted by an insurrection that broke out among the people of 
Prague and gave General Windischgratz, the commander of 
the Austrian forces, a sufficient excuse for intervening. He 
established a military government, and the prospect of inde- 
pendence for Bohemia vanished. This was Austria's first real 
victory. 

The eastern and southern portion of the Hapsburg domains 
were not more homogeneous than the west and north. When 
a constitution was granted to Hungary it was inevitable that 
the races which the Hungarians (Magyars) had long dominated 

1 The Slavic inhabitants of Bohemia. 



The RevohUions of 184.8 and their Results 603 

should begin to consider how they might gain the right to 
govern themselves. The Slavs inhabiting Carniola, Carinthia, 
Istria, Croatia, Slavonia, Bosnia, and Servia had long meditated 
upon the possibility of a united Slavic kingdom in the south. 
Both the Servians and Croatians now revolted against Hungary. 
In October, 1848, the radical party rose in Vienna itself, as 
it had in Paris after the deposition of Louis Philippe. The 




■■'"'"If*: 



Fig. 164. Francis Joseph 1 

minister of war was brutally murdered and the emperor fled, insurrection 
The city was, however, besieged by the same commander who i n Vienna 
had put down the insurrection in Prague, and was forced to su PP ressed 
surrender. The imperial government was now in a position 
still further to strengthen itself. The emperor, a notoriously 
inefficient person, was forced to abdicate (December 2, 1848) 

1 Francis Joseph was born in 1830, so that he witnessed the revolutions of 
1848 at the age of 18 and the Great War of 1914 at the age of 84. Pictures of 
him as an old man are familiar ; but this one of him at his accession recalls to 
us his long reign. (See last chapter.) 



604 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Accession of 
Francis 
Joseph I, 
184S- 

Suppression 
of Hungarian 
republic 



Final peace- 
ful union 
between 
Austria and 
Hungary, 
1867 



Austria 
defeats the 
king of 
Sardinia at 
Novara, 
March, 1849 

Accession 
of Victor 
Emmanuel 
as king of 
Sardinia 



Austria 
reestablishes 
the former 
conditions in 
Italy, except 
in Piedmont 



in favor of his youthful nephew, Francis Joseph I, who still 
(19 1 5) sits upon the Austrian throne. Moreover, a new Met- 
ternich appeared in the person of Schwarzenberg. 

A vigorous campaign was begun against Hungary, which, 
under the influence of the patriotic Kossuth, had deposed its 
Hapsburg king and declared itself an independent republic 
under the presidency of Kossuth. The Tsar placed his forces 
at the disposal of Francis Joseph, and with the aid of an army 
of one hundred and fifty thousand Russians, who marched in 
from the east, the Hungarians were compelled, by the middle 
of August, to surrender. Austria took terrible vengeance upon 
the rebels. Thousands were hung, shot, and imprisoned, and 
many, including Kossuth, fled to the United States or else- 
where. But within a few years Hungary won its independ- 
ence by peaceful measures, and it is now on exactly the same 
footing as the western dominions of Francis Joseph in the dual 
federation of Austria-Hungary. 

It remained for Austria to reestablish her power in Italy. 
In March, 1849, Charles Albert renewed the war which had 
been discontinued after the defeat at Custozza. The campaign 
lasted but five days and closed with his crushing and definitive 
defeat at Novara (March 23), which put an end to the hopes 
of Italian liberty for the time being. Charles Albert abdicated 
in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel, who was destined before 
many years to become king of Italy. 

After bringing the king of Sardinia to terms, Austria pushed 
southward, reestablishing the old order as she went. The 
ephemeral Italian republics were unable to offer any effectual 
resistance. The former rulers were restored in Rome, Tuscany, 
and A^enice, and the constitutions were swept away from one 
end of the peninsula to the other, except in Piedmont, the 
most important part of the king of Sardinia's realms. There 
Victor Emmanuel not only maintained the representative 
government introduced by his father, but, by summoning to 
his councils leaders known throughout Italy for their liberal 



The Revolutions 0/1848 and their Results 605 

sentiments, he prepared to lead Italy once more against her 
foreign oppressors. (See below, Chapter XXIX.) 

In Germany, as elsewhere, Austria profited by the dissen- Question of 
sions among her opponents. On May 18, 1848, the national f the pro- 
assembly, consisting of nearly six hundred representatives of posed union 
the German people, had met at Frankfort. It immediately 
began the consideration of a new constitution that should 
satisfy the popular longings for a great free German state, to 
be governed by and for the people. But what were to be the 
confines of this new German state ? The confederation of 
18 1 5 did not include all the German inhabitants of Prussia, 
and did include the heterogeneous western possessions of 
Austria — Bohemia and Moravia, for example, where a great 
part of the people were Slavs. There was no hesitation in 
deciding that all the Prussian territories should be admitted to 
the new union. As it appeared impossible to exclude Austria 
altogether, the assembly agreed to include those parts of her 
territory which had belonged to the confederation formed in 
18 1 5. This decision rendered the task of founding a strong impossibility 
German state practically impossible ; for the new union was state which" 
to include two great European powers who might at any s ! 10 ( J llc b 11 J h 
moment become rivals, since Prussia would hardly consent to Austria and 

Prussia 

be led forever by Austria. Such a union could only continue 
to be, as it had been, a loose confederation of practically 
independent- princes. 

In spite of her partiality for the old union, Austria could not The assem- 
prevent the assembly from completing its new constitution, kin^o/ 
This provided that there should be an hereditary emperor at ^become 
the head of the government, and that exalted office was emperor of 
tendered to the king of Prussia. Frederick William IV was, 
however, timid and conservative at heart ; he hated revolution Frederick 
and doubted if the national assembly had any right to confer refusSTthe 
the imperial title on him. He also greatly respected Austria, im P enal 
and felt that a war with her, which was likely to ensue if he 
accepted the crown, would not only be dangerous to Prussia, 



606 Medieval and Modern Times 

since Francis Joseph could rely upon the assistance of the 
Tsar, but dishonorable as well, in Austria's present embarrass- 
ment. So he refused the honor of the imperial title and 
announced his rejection of the new constitution (April, 1849). 
The national This decision rendered the year's work of the national 
disperses and assembly fruitless, and its members gradually dispersed, 
the old diet Austria now insisted upon the reestablishment of the old diet, 

is restored L 

and nearly came to war with Prussia over the policy to be pur- 
sued. Hostilities were only averted by the ignominious sub- 
mission of Prussia to the demands of Schwarzenberg in 185 1. 
Results of While the revolutions of 1848 seem futile enough when 

tions of 1848 viewed from the standpoint of the hopes of March, they left 
some important indications of progress. The king of Prussia, 
as a result of a purely Prussian revolution, which brought 
street fighting in Berlin, had granted his country a constitution, 
which, with some modifications, has served Prussia down to 
the present day. Piedmont also had obtained a constitution. 
The internal reforms, moreover, which these countries speedily 
introduced, prepared them to head once more, and this time 
with success, a movement for national unity, 
issues of It will be noted that the revolutionists of 1848 aimed to do 

from those 60 more than those of the French Revolution of 1789. Not only 
of J 789 was the race and national question everywhere an important 

one, but there were plans for the economic reorganization of 
society. It was no longer simply a matter of abolishing the 
remnants of feudalism and insuring equal rights to all and the 
participation of the more prosperous classes in the government. 
Those who lived by the labor of their hands and were employed 
in the vast industries that had developed with the application 
of steam machinery to manufacture also had their spokesmen. 
The relation of the State to the working classes and of capital 
to labor had become, as they still are, the great problems of 
modern times. 



The Revolutions of 1848 and their Results 607 

QUESTIONS 

Section 121. How was the Second French Republic established 
in 1848? What difficulties did the government have to meet? Who 
was Napoleon III, and how did he become emperor? 

Section i 22. What was the position of Austria when the Revo- 
lution of 1848 began? How did the revolution in Italy begin? Why 
were the prospects of the reformers in Italy and Germany bright in 
March, 1848? What did they hope to achieve? 

Section 123. Trace the course of events in Italy during 1848. 
Review the obstacles that stood in the way of uniting Italy into a 
single kingdom. What led to the emperor's government winning 
the victory in Austria? What was the outcome of the revolutionary 
movement in Austria and Hungary? How were matters settled in 
Italy? Why did the German national assembly fail to establish a 
firmer union of the German states ? 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY AND GERMANY 

Founding of the Kingdom of Italy 

Italy through 124. From the time of the break-up of the Roman Empire 
Ages down to the year i860 Italy had never been an independent 

nation under its own ruler. We have seen how the German 
emperors from the time of Charlemagne to that of Frederick 
Barbarossa tried to conquer the Italian peninsula and how 
separate states grew up over which France, Spain, and Austria 
fought after the invasion of the French king Charles VIII in 
1495. We shall now trace the steps by which an Italian king- 
dom was created shortly after the unsuccessful attempts of 
1848-1849. 
Development Under Victor Emmanuel and his great minister, Count 
under Cavour Cavour, Piedmont had rapidly developed into a modern state. 
It sent a contingent to the aid of the western powers in the 
Crimean War waged by France and England against Russia 
(1853-1856); it developed its resources, military and eco- 
nomic, and at last found an ally to help it in a new attempt 
to expel Austria from Italy. 
Position and Napoleon III, emperor of the French, like his far more dis- 
Napoieoniii tinguished uncle, was a usurper. He knew that he could not 
rely upon mere tradition, but must maintain his popularity by 
deeds that should redound to the glory of France. A war with 
Austria for the liberation of the Italians, who like the French 
were a Latin race, would be popular; especially if France 
could thereby add a bit of territory to her realms and perhaps 
become the protector of the proposed Italian confederation. 
A conference was arranged between Napoleon and Cavour. 

608 



The Ujiiftcatiou of Italy and Germany 609 

Just what agreement was reached we do not know, but Napo- 
leon no doubt engaged to come to the aid of the king of 
Sardinia should the latter find a pretense for going to war 
with Austria. Should they together succeed in expelling Aus- 
tria from northern Italy, the king of Sardinia was to reward 
France by ceding to her Savoy and Nice, which belonged 
to her geographically and racially though not historically. 




Fig. 165. Cavour 

By April, 1859, Victor Emmanuel had managed to involve Victories 

himself in a war with Austria. The French army promptly Emmanuel 

joined forces with the Piedmontese, defeated the Austrians at . and N a po- 

J • leon III over 

Magenta, and on June 8 Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel Austria 
entered Milan amid the rejoicings of the people. The Aus- 
trians managed the campaign very badly and were again 
defeated at Solferino (June 24). 

Suddenly Europe was astonished to hear that a truce had Napoleon in 

been concluded, and that the preliminaries of a peace had theTtaiiaiT 

been arranged which left Venetia in Austria's hands, in spite successes 



610 Medieval and Modern Times 

of Napoleon Ill's boast that he would free Italy to the 
Adriatic. The French emperor had begun to fear that, with 
the growing enthusiasm which was showing itself throughout 
the peninsula for Piedmont, there was danger that it might 




Fig. 106. Garibaldi 

Garibaldi shares with Victor Emmanuel the national enthusiasm of Italy, 
and his monument, one of the finest in Rome, looks proudly over the 
Eternal City from a high hill. He was a republican, a convert of Mazzini, 
and had lived a restless life, having fought in South America and lived 
for a time in New York (where his house is preserved as a memorial). 
At the head of his " legion " of volunteers, clad in their gay red blouses, 
he was a most picturesque figure, and his rapid success in the south lent 
an element of romance to the unification of Italy 

succeed in forming a national kingdom so strong as to need no 
French protector. By leaving Venetia in possession of Austria, 
and agreeing that Piedmont should only be increased by the 
incorporation of Lombardy and the little duchies of Parma 
and Modena, Napoleon III hoped to prevent the consolidation 
of Italy from proceeding too far. 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 6 1 1 

He had, however, precipitated changes which he was power- The forma- 
less to check. Italy was now ready to fuse into a single state, kingdom of 
Tuscany, as well as Modena and Parma, voted (March, i860) Ita1 ^' l86 ° 
to unite with Piedmont. Garibaldi, a famous republican leader, 
sailed for Sicily, where he assumed the dictatorship of the island 
in the name of Victor Emmanuel, " King of Italy." After 




50 100 150 200 
8^ Longitude 



Map of Unification of Italy 



expelling the troops of the king of Naples from Sicily, he 
crossed to the mainland, and early in September he entered 
Naples itself, just as the king fled from his capital. 

Garibaldi now proposed to march on Rome and proclaim Napoleon ill 
the kingdom of Italy. This would have imperiled all the previ- pre ventthe 
ous gains, for Napoleon III could not, in view of the strong ^^^°^ 
Catholic sentiment in France, possibly permit the occupation of the kingdom 
Rome and the destruction of the political independence of the 



6 12 Medieval and Modern Times 

pope. He agreed that Victor Emmanuel might annex the out- 
lying papal possessions to the north and reestablish a stable 
government in Naples instead of Garibaldi's dictatorship. But 
Rome, the imperial city, with the territory immediately sur- 
rounding it, must be left to its old master. Victor Emmanuel 
accordingly marched southward and occupied Naples (October). 
Its king capitulated and all southern Italy became a part of the 
kingdom of Italy. 

In February, 1861, the first Italian parliament was opened at 
Turin, and the process of really amalgamating the heterogene- 
ous portions of the new kingdom began. Yet the joy of the 
Italians over the realization of their hopes of unity and national 
independence was tempered by the fact that Austria still held 
one of the most famous of the Italian provinces, and that 
Rome, which typified Italy's former grandeur, was not included 
in the new kingdom. Within a decade, however, both these 
districts became a part of the kingdom of Italy through the 
action of Prussia. William I and his extraordinary minister and 
adviser, Bismarck, were about to do for Germany what A r ictor 
Emmanuel and Cavour had accomplished for Italy. 

How Prussia defeated Austria and founded 
the North German Federation 

Germany the 1 25. A distinguished German historian (Treitschke) has 
the great ° declared that Germany is the youngest of the great European 
European powers. In spite of this it is now by far the best organized 
and most powerful, from a military standpoint, of all the states 
of Europe, as was shown when the terrible war of 19 14 broke 
out. In that year it hopefully entered into a conflict with France, 
Russia, England, Japan, Serbia, and Belgium with but a single 
ally, Austria-Hungary. And it was with the greatest difficulty 
that its victorious advance was checked in the autumn of 1 9 1 4. 
Moreover, in the arts of peace it has made for itself a similar 
commanding position. 



history 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 613 

The present German emperor, William II, was born in 1859, Review of 
and it was during his boyhood that the Empire over which he 
rules as Kaiser was created. All the efforts of the medieval 
emperors from Otto to Frederick Barbarossa to unify Ger- 
many had proved vain. Under the long line of Hapsburg 
emperors from Rudolph of Hapsburg to the last ruler of the 
Holy Roman Empire, Francis II, the German states became 
even more independent of one another than they had been in 
earlier centuries. Finally, the first step toward German unifi- 
cation was made by Napoleon when, under his auspices, many 
of the little states were swallowed up by the larger ones in 
1803 and the following years. The old Holy Roman Empire 
of the German nation came to an end in 1806, and Germany 
was completely under French influence for several years. 
After Napoleon's downfall a loose union of the surviving 
states into which Germany had been consolidated was formed 
at the Congress of Vienna. The attempt of the constitutional 
assembly of Frankfort in 18 48- 18 49 to form a strong empire 
under Prussia failed because the king of Prussia refused to 
accept the crown, on the ground that the assembly had no right 
to offer it to him and that should he accept it he would in all 
probability become involved in a war with Austria, which was 
excluded from the proposed union. 

With the accession of William I in 1858, 1 a new era dawned 
for Prussia. A practical and vigorous man had come into 
power, whose great aim was to expel Austria from the German 
Confederation, and out of the remaining states to construct a 
firm union, under the leadership of Prussia, which should take 
its place among the most powerful of the states of Europe. 
He saw that war would come sooner or later, and his first 
business was to develop the military resources of his realms. 

In a previous chapter (XIX) we have seen how the electorate 
of Brandenburg developed into the powerful kingdom of Prussia 

1 He ruled until 1861 as regent for his brother, Frederick William IV, who 
was incapacitated by disease. 



William I 
of Prussia, 
1861-1888 



6 14 Medieval and Modern Times 

Rule of in the hands of the house of Hohenzollern. Three things then 

Germany are noteworthy in the history of the Hohenzollerns — their skill 
in maintaining a great army, in acquiring terrritoy, and in keep- 
ing up the old tradition of monarchy by the grace of God. It 
was Prussia and the Hohenzollerns who created the present 
German Empire and who made it the most powerful military 
state in Europe. 
The Prussian The war of independence fought against Napoleon in 1813 
had led the Prussian king to summon the whole nation to 
arms, and a law was passed in Prussia making service in the 
army obligatory upon every able-bodied male subject. The 
first thing that William I did was to increase the annual levy 
from forty to sixty thousand men, and to see that all the 
soldiers remained in active service three years. They then 
passed into the reserve, according to the existing law, where 
for two years more they remained ready at any time to take up 
arms should it be necessary. William wished to increase the 
term of service in the reserve to four years. In this way the 
state would claim seven of the years of early manhood and 
have an effective army of four hundred thousand, without re- 
quiring the service of men who were approaching middle life. 
The lower house of the Prussian parliament refused, however, to 
vote the necessary money for increasing the strength of the army. 
Bismarck and The king proceeded, nevertheless, with his plan, and in 
wkhthcP 1862 called to his side one of the most extraordinary. states- 
Prussian men Q £ mo dern times, Otto von Bismarck. The new minister 

parliament ' 

conceived a scheme for laying Austria low and exalting Prussia, 
which he succeeded in carrying out with startling precision. He 
could not, however, reveal it to the lower chamber ; he would, 
indeed, scarcely hint its nature to the king himself. In defiance 
of the lower house and of the newspapers, he carried on the 
strengthening of the army without votes of money by the 
parliament, on the theory that the constitution had not pro- N 
vided for a deadlock between the upper and lower houses, and 
that consequently the king might exercise, in such a case, his 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 615 

former absolute power. For a time it seemed as if Prussia was 
returning to a pure despotism, for there was assuredly no more 
fundamental provision of the constitution than the right of the 
people to control the granting of the taxes. Yet Bismarck was 
eventually fully pardoned by public opinion, and it was generally 
agreed that the end had amply justified the means. 

Prussia now had a military force that appeared to justify the The Schles- 
hope of victory should she undertake a war with her old rival, affair ° 
In order to bring about the expulsion of Austria from the Ger- 
man Confederation, Bismarck took advantage of a knotty prob- 
lem that had been troubling Germany, and which was known as 
the Schleswig-Holstein affair. The provinces of Schleswig and 
Holstein, although inhabited largely by Germans, had for cen- 
turies belonged to the king of Denmark. They were allowed, 
however, to retain their provincial assemblies, and were not 
considered a part of Denmark any more than Hanover was a 
part of Great Britain in the last century. 

In 1847, just when the growing idea of nationality was about The action of 
to express itself in the Revolution of 1848, the king of Den- 
mark proclaimed that he was going to make these German 
provinces an integral part of the Danish kingdom. This aroused 
great indignation throughout Germany, especially as Holstein 
was a member of the German Confederation. In 1863 the 
king of Denmark ventured, in spite of the opposition of Prussia, 
to incorporate Schleswig into his kingdom. 

" From this time the history of Germany is the history of the Bismarck's 
profound and audacious statecraft and of the overmastering p i an f or t h e 
will of Bismarck ; the nation, except through its valor on the AusSaTrom 
battlefield, ceases to influence the shaping of its own fortunes. Germany 
What the German people desired in 1864 was that Schleswig- 
Holstein should be attached, under a ruler of its own, to the 
German Federation as it then existed ; what Bismarck intended 
was that Schleswig-Holstein, itself incorporated more or less 
directly with Prussia, should be made the means of the destruc- 
tion of the existing Federal system and of the expulsion of 



6i6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The working 
out of the 
plan 



Prussia 
declares the 
German Con- 
federation 
dissolved 



Austria from Germany. . . . The German people desired one 
course of action ; Bismarck had determined on something 
totally different ; with matchless resolution and skill he bore 
down all the opposition of people and of the [European] 
courts, and forced a reluctant nation to the goal which he 
himself had chosen for it" (Fyffe). 

Bismarck's first step was politely to invite Austria to coop- 
erate with Prussia in settling the Schleswig-Holstein difficulty. 
As Denmark refused to make any concessions, the two powers 
declared war, defeated the Danish army, and forced the king 
of Denmark to cede Schleswig-Holstein to the rulers of Prussia 
and Austria jointly (October, 1864). They were to make such 
disposition of the provinces as they saw fit. There was now 
no trouble in picking a quarrel with Austria. Bismarck sug- 
gested the nominal independence of Schleswig and Holstein, 
but that they should become practically a part of Prussia. 
This plan was of course indignantly rejected by Austria, and 
it was arranged that, pending an adjustment, Austria should 
govern Holstein, and Prussia, Schleswig. 

Bismarck now obtained the secret assurance of Napoleon III 
that the French emperor Would not interfere if Prussia and Italy 
should go to war with Austria. In April, 1866, Italy agreed 
that, should the king of Prussia take up arms during the fol- 
lowing three months with the aim of reforming the German 
union, it too would immediately declare war on Austria, with 
the hope, of course, of obtaining Venice. The relations be- 
tween Austria and Prussia grew more and more strained, until 
finally in June, 1866, Austria induced the German diet to call 
out the forces of the confederation with a view of making war 
on Prussia. This act Prussia declared put an end to the 



War declared 
between 
Prussia and 
Austria 



On June 1 2 war was declared between Austria and Prussia. 
With the exception of Mecklenburg and the small states of the 
north, all Germany sided with Austria against Prussia. Bis- 
marck immediately demanded of the rulers of the larger North 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 



617 



German states — Hanover, Saxony, and Hesse-Cassel — that 
they stop their warlike preparations and agree to accept Prus- 
sia's plan for reforming the Germanic Confederation. On their 
refusal, Prussian troops immediately occupied these territories, 
and war actually began. 

So strong was the organization of the Prussian army that, Prussia 
in spite of the suspicion and even hatred which the liberal vlctono1 




Prussia's Annexations in 1866 



party in Prussia entertained for the despotic Bismarck, all 
resistance on the part of the states of the north was promptly 
prevented, Austria was defeated on July 3 in the decisive 
battle of Sadowa, and within three weeks after the breaking off 
of diplomatic relations the war was practically over. Austria's 
influence was at an end, and Prussia had won her right to do 
with Germany as she pleased. 

Prussia was aware that the larger states south of the Main 
River were not ripe for the union that she desired. She 



6i8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The North 

German 

Federation 



The consti- 
tution of the 
Federation 



Austro- 
Hungary 



therefore organized a so-called North German Federation, 
which included all the states north of the Main. Prussia had 
seized the opportunity to increase her own boundaries and 
round out her territory by annexing the North German states, 
with the exception of Saxony, that had gone to war against 
her. Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Nassau, and the free city of 
Frankfort, along with the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, 
all became Prussian. 

Prussia, thus enlarged, summoned the lesser states about her 
to confer upon a constitution for the North German Federation. 
This constitution provided that there should be a national as- 
sembly made up of representatives of all the people included 
in the union, which corresponded roughly to our House of 
Representatives. The king of Prussia was assigned the presi- 
dency of the union. A peculiar body was provided for, called 
the Federal Council (BundesratJi) to which all the state govern- 
ments, that is, the monarchs and free towns, included in the 
union were to send agents who were not 'to vote according to 
their own notions but as directed by the particular government 
they represented. Each government was assured at least one 
vote in the Federal Council, but Prussia on account of her im- 
portance was assigned no less than seventeen votes out of a 
total of forty-three. To sum up, the people at large were per- 
mitted to elect members of the chamber of representatives ; the 
monarchs included in the federation had one or more votes each 
in the Federal Council, and, finally, the overwhelming impor- 
tance of Prussia was recognized by giving its king the presi- 
dency of the union and permitting him to control personally 
over a third of the votes in the Federal Council. 

Austria, excluded from Germany, sought to erect a strong 
state in southeastern Europe. In 1867 the Austro-Hungarian 
monarchy was formed, the Magyars being granted almost all they 
had fought for under Kossuth. Most Slavic subjects of the 
Hapsburgs, however, remained hostile to this joint government, 
and this furnished fuel for the war of 19 14. (See last chapter.) 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 619 

The Franco-German War of 1870 and the Estab- 
lishment of the Present German Empire 

126. No one was more chagrined by the abrupt termination Disappoint- 
of the war of 1866 and the speedy and decisive victory of hopes°of 
Prussia than Napoleon III. He had hoped that the combatants Napoleon in 
might be weakened by a long struggle, and that at last he might 
have an opportunity to arbitrate and incidentally to extend the 
boundaries of France, as had happened after the Italian war. 
But Prussia came out of the conflict with greatly increased 
power and territory, while France had gained nothing. An 
effort of Napoleon's to get a foothold in Mexico had failed, 
owing to the recovery of the United States from the Civil War 
and their warning that they should regard his continued inter- 
vention there as an hostile act. His hopes of annexing Luxem- 
bourg as an offset for the gains that Prussia had made, were 
also frustrated. 

One course remained for the French emperor, namely, to France de- 
permit himself to be forced into a war with Prussia, which had upon p^ssia, 
especially roused the jealousy of France. The exact pretext J uly I9 > l87 ° 
for hostilities was relatively unimportant. 1 Bismarck also was 
glad of a chance to go to war, for he believed that if the South 
German states were to unite under Prussia for common de- 
fense, he could make the union a lasting one. On the other 
hand, the hostility which the South German states had formerly 

1 In 1869 Spain was without a king, and the crown was tendered to Leopold 
of Hohenzollern, a very distant relative of William I of Prussia. This greatly 
excited the people of Paris, for it seemed to them only an indirect way of bringing 
Spain under the influence of Prussia. The French minister of foreign affairs 
declared that the candidacy was an attempt to " reestablish the empire of 
Charles V." In view of this opposition, Leopold withdrew his acceptance of the 
Spanish crown early in July, 1870, and Europe believed the incident to be at an 
end. The French ministry, however, was not satisfied with this, and demanded 
that the king of Prussia should pledge himself that the candidacy should never 
be renewed. This William refused to do. The account of the demand and 
refusal was given in such a way in the German newspapers that it appeared as 
if the French ambassador had insulted King William. The Parisians, on the 
other hand, thought that their ambassador had received an affront, and demanded 
an immediate declaration of war. 



620 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Siege of Paris 
and close of 
the Franco- 
Prussian War 



Cession of 
Alsace and 
Lorraine to 
Germany 



shown toward Prussia encouraged Napoleon III to believe that 
as soon as the French troops should gain their first victory, 
Bavaria, Wiirttemberg, and Baden would join him. That first 
victory was never won. War had no sooner been declared than 
the Germans laid all jealousy aside and ranged themselves as 
a nation against a national assailant. The French army, more- 
over, was neither well equipped nor well commanded. The 
Germans hastened across the Rhine, and within a few days 
were driving the French before them. In a series of bloody 
encounters about Metz one of the French armies was defeated 
and finally shut up within the fortifications of the town. Seven 
weeks had not elapsed after the beginning of the war before 
the Germans had captured a second French army and made 
a prisoner of the emperor himself in the great battle of Sedan, 
September i, 1870. 1 

The Germans then surrounded and laid siege to Paris. 
Napoleon III had been completely discredited by the disasters 
about Metz and at Sedan, and consequently the empire was 
abolished and France for the third time was declared a repub- 
lic. 2 In spite of the energy which the new government showed 
in arousing the French against the invaders, prolonged re- 
sistance was impossible. The French capital surrendered Janu- 
ary 28, 187 1, and an armistice was arranged. Bismarck deeply 
humiliated France, in arranging the treaty of peace, by requir- 
ing the cession of two French provinces which had formerly 
belonged to the Holy Roman Empire — Alsace and northeastern 
Lorraine. 3 



1 See the picture opposite p. 635, which represents a charge of the French 
cavalry on the German line. The French fought heroically but were outgeneraled 
and overcome by superior forces. 2 See below, p. 635. 

3 Alsace had, with certain exceptions, — especially as regarded Strassburg 
and the other free towns, — been ceded to the French king by the treaty of 
Westphalia (see above, p. 357). Louis XIV disregarded the exceptions and 
seized Strassburg and the other towns (168 1) and so annexed the whole region 
to France. The duchy of Lorraine had upon the death of its last duke fallen to 
France in 1766. It had previously been regarded as a part of the Holy Roman 
Empire. In 187 1 less than a third of the original duchy of Lorraine, including 
the fortified city of Metz, was ceded back to Germany. 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 621 

In this way France was cut' off from the Rhine, and the crest France pays 
of the Vosges Mountains was established as its boundary. The demnity 
Germans exacted, further, the enormous indemnity of five billion 
francs, and German troops were to occupy France till it was 




Fig. 167. Proclamation of the German Empire 

The king of Prussia, with his son and successor Frederick by his side 
and surrounded by the representatives of other states, was hailed as 
" German Emperor " in the great hall of the palace of Louis XIV, 
known as the " hall of mirrors " from the long row of such as those 
shown in the picture. Bismarck and von Moltke, the Prussian general, 
stand in the foreground, just in front of the dais 

paid. The French people made pathetic sacrifices to hasten Effect of the 
the payment of this indemnity, in order that the country might France° n 
be freed from the presence of the hated Germans. The bitter 
feeling of the French for the Germans dates from this war, 
and their longing for revenge, combined with their fear of 
the German military power, prevented the two nations from 



622 



Medieval and Modern' Times 



Final unifi- 
cation of 
Germany 



Proclamation 
of the Ger- 
man Empire, 
January 18, 
1871 



becoming friends again in the years which followed, and caused 
France to seek the friendship of Russia instead. 1 

The war between France and Prussia in 1870, instead of 
hindering the development of Germany as Napoleon III had 
hoped it would, only served to consummate the work of 1866. 
The South German states, — Bavaria, Wiirttemberg, Baden, 
and south Hesse, — having sent their troops to fight side by 
side with the Prussian forces, consented after their common 
victory over France to join the North German Federation. 
Surrounded by the German princes, William, King of Prussia 
and President of the North German Federation, was proclaimed 
German Emperor in the palace of Versailles, January, 187 1. 
In this way the present German Empire came into existence. 
With its wonderfully organized army and its mighty chancellor, 
Bismarck, it immediately took a leading place among the 
western powers of Europe. 



The Final Unification of Italy 



Rome added 
to the king- 
dom of Italy, 
1870 



127. The unification of Italy was completed, like that of 
Germany, by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. After the war 
of 1866 Austria had ceded Venetia to Italy. Napoleon III 
had, however, sent French troops in 1867 to prevent Garibaldi 
from seizing Rome and the neighboring districts, which had 
been held by the head of the Catholic Church for more than 
a thousand years. In August, 1870, the reverses of the war 
compelled Napoleon to recall the French garrison from Rome, 
and the pope made little effort to defend his capital against 
the Italian army, which occupied it in September. The people 
of Rome voted by an overwhelming majority to join the king- 
dom of Italy ; and the work of Victor Emmanuel and Cavour 
was completed by transferring the capital to the Eternal City. 

Although the papal possessions were declared a part of the 
kingdom of Italy, a law was passed which guaranteed to the 

1 See below, Chapter XXXV, 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 623 

pope the rank and privileges of a sovereign prince. He was to Position of 
have his own ambassadors and court like the other European 
powers. No officer of the Italian government was to enter the 
Lateran or Vatican palaces upon any official mission. As head 
of the Church the pope was to be entirely independent of the 
king of Italy, and the bishops were not required to take the 
oath of allegiance to the government. A sum of over six 
hundred thousand dollars annually was also appropriated to 
aid the pope in defraying his expenses. The pope, however, 
refused to recognize the arrangement. He still regards him- 
self as a prisoner and the Italian government as a usurper 
who has robbed him of his possessions. He has never ac- 
cepted the income assigned to him, and still maintains that 
the independence which he formerly enjoyed as ruler of the 
Papal States is essential to the best interests of the head of 
a great international church. 

In order- to maintain the dignity of her new position, Italy Italy becomes 
rapidly increased her army and navy. Universal military serv- p ^ r r ° pea 
ice was introduced on the Prussian model and modern war- 
ships were built. Then the Italians set about gaining colonies 
in Africa and in 1887 sent an army into Abyssinia; but after 
some fifteen years of intermittent warfare they were able to Colonial 
retain only a strip along the coast of the Red Sea, about twice enter P nse 
the size of the state of Pennsylvania. Again, in 191 1, by a 
war with Turkey, they took Tripoli on the south shore of the 
Mediterranean. 1 

The cost of armaments has made Italy almost bankrupt The cost of 
at times, and as it is not a rich country, taxes are very high. m11 
As these fall largely upon the poor, hundreds of thousands of 
Italians have left their land as emigrants, preferring the United 
States or Argentina to their own colonies. Many of those who 
stayed at home have been discontented with the government, Troubles at 
some becoming socialists, others," especially the old followers ° me 
of Mazzini, favoring a republic, while the party wishing to see 
1 See below, p. 720. 



624 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Progress 
of Italy 



the papal power restored has used the situation to advance its 
conservative ideas. Still, most critics admit that the present 
monarchy is much better than the old governments which it 
replaced. Much of the revenue has been spent on other things 
than armaments. Railroads have been built by the state to 




Fig. i 68. Monument to Victor Emmanuel I, at Rome 

On the northwestern slope of the Capitoline Hill the Italians have 
erected the most imposing monument in Europe, to commemorate the 
unification of Italy. Its size is indicated in the picture by the relative 
size of people and buildings. A colossal statue of Victor Emmanuel 
adorns the center, while a vast colonnade surmounts the hill. The 
Forum of ancient Rome lies just behind it; but it faces in the opposite 
direction down a broad, busy street of the modern city, which is grow- 
ing rapidly. Electric cars now connect the seven hills, and arc lights 
shine beside the Colosseum. In many ways the capital of the ancient 
world has become as modern as an American city 



open up the country, and Italy has begun to develop inter- 
nally. Manufactures have grown up in the northern part, so 
that Milan is to-day one of the great manufacturing cities of 
Europe. National schools are bringing improvement in educa- 
tion, although the peasants in the mountainous districts are 
still very ignorant and superstitious. 



The Unification of Italy and Germany 625 

'Victor Emmanuel died in 1878. His son Humbert was assas- Kings of 



sinated by an anarchist in 1900 and was succeeded by his son, 
the present king, Victor Emmanuel III, who is regarded as an 
enlightened man desirous of ruling within the limits of the con- 
stitution. The monarchy is in practice, as in form, quite similar 
to that of England. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 124. Review briefly the history of Italy from the break 
up of the Roman Empire to 1859. What was the importance of 
Sardinia in Italy? What was the policy of Cavour? Why was 
Napoleon III ready to intervene in Italian affairs? What was the 
result of his intervention ? How was the kingdom of Italy founded, 
and what Italian territories were not included in the union of 1861 ? 

Section 125. Why is Germany called the youngest of the Euro- 
pean powers? How did the unification of Germany really begin? 
Why did Prussia play such an important role in Germany? What 
was the policy of William I and Bismarck ? What do you know of 
the German army? What had the Schleswig-Holstein affair to do 
with the war of 1 866 ? What were the results of that war ? Review 
the growth of Prussia from the Great Elector to 1866. W T hat was 
the North German Federation? 

Section 126. How did France become involved in war with 
Germany in 1870? What was the course of the war? How did the 
final unification of Germany take place ? 

Section 127. When and how was Italy finally unified? What is 
the position of the pope? Sketch the main lines of the history of 
the kingdom of Italy. Why do Italian emigrants go to America in 
preference to their own colonies ? 



Italy 



CHAPTER XXX 



THE GERMAN EMPIRE AND THE THIRD FRENCH REPUBLIC 



The German Constitution 



The German 
Empire an 
extension of 
the North 
German 
Federation 



The Kaiser 



The Bundes- 
rath 



128. When the North German Federation was created by 
Bismarck as a result of the war with Austria, in 1866, he drew 
up for it a constitution which would need little change when 
the southern states, Bavaria, Wiirttemberg, and Baden, were to 
come in. They did this by treaty, while their joint armies were 
besieging Paris ; and in the German Empire which thus came 
into existence they kept a little more independence for their 
state governments than similar states in the north. The empire 
is therefore a federal union in which Prussia dominates, but in 
which the powers of the states vary slightly. 

The " President " of the federation is the king of Prussia, 
who bears the title " German Emperor." 1 He can control foreign 
affairs, since he makes treaties ; he can declare defensive war 
and is commander in chief of the army and navy ; and, since he 
can appoint or dismiss the chancellor and imperial officials, almost 
the whole imperial administration depends, in theory, upon him. 
Moreover, as king of Prussia yet other powers are his, based 
upon the old claim, accepted still by the conservative parties, 
that he rules by the grace of God. 

The real sovereignty, however, according to the constitution, 
resides in the whole body of all the German rulers in the union, 
and therefore more especially in the Federal Council, or Bun- 
desrath, to which the various governments send their represent- 
atives. This council is much more important than the Senate 

1 Not Emperor of Gcj-matiy, which is a territorial title and claims too much 
for Bismarck to force it upon the other rulers. 

626 




Bismarck 




The German Imperial Family 



German Empire and Third French Republic 627 

of the United States or any other upper house in Europe. It 
initiates the important laws, and is presided over by the imperial 
chancellor. Prussia's influence in it is secured by assigning her 
king a sufficient number of votes to enable him to pass any 
measure he wishes. 

The House of Representatives, or Reichstag, consisting of The Reichs- 
about four hundred members, is elected by universal male 




Fig. 169. Parliament Buildings, Berlin 



suffrage for a term of five years. The emperor, however, may 
dissolve it at any time with the consent of the Bundesrath, and 
has done so on occasions when it has refused to pass the 
measures of the government. Since such measures — especially 
money bills — ordinarily come to it from the Bundesrath ready- 
made, the Reichstag is little more than a critic of the proposi- 
tions placed before it. This places it at a great disadvantage as 
compared with the House of Commons, the French Chamber 
of Deputies, or the American House of Representatives. More- 
over, since the election districts have not been changed since 
187 1, cities which have grown rapidly have no adequate 



628 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The chancel- 
lor 



The federal 
system 



representation, 1 so that the Reichstag is in this respect some- 
what like the English House of Commons before 1832. 

The chief minister of the empire is the chancellor, who is 
appointed by the emperor and is responsible to him alone ; 
although there has been much agitation in recent years, 
especially among the socialists, to secure responsibility to the 
Reichstag. 2 Germany has never introduced the cabinet system. 
The Kaiser exercises, through the chancellor and in view of 
his position as king of Prussia, a power unrivaled by any of 
the constitutional rulers of Europe. 

In the German federal system the imperial government has 
wide powers in regulating matters which in the United States 
are reserved entirely to the states. In addition to the regulation 
of commerce, and the control of the banking system and of the 
railways, telegraph, and post office, it has introduced new and 
uniform criminal and civil law codes 3 throughout the empire 
and reorganized the courts, while a new imperial currency re- 
placed, in 1873, tne bewildering variety of coins and paper 
money of the separate states. 4 

From this description it will be seen that the new German 
Empire is vastly different from the old Holy Roman Empire. 



The Kultur- 

kampf 



Bismarck and State Socialism 

129. The first chancellor of the new German Empire was 
naturally the man who had created it, Prince Bismarck. The 
first three years of his government were largely taken up with 
a struggle with the authorities of the Catholic Church, over 

1 Berlin, for instance, with two million inhabitants, has only six members in 
the Reichstag, although it should, proportionately, have twenty. The reason for 
not redistributing the seats is that this reform would increase the socialist 
membership of the Reichstag. 

2 In 1909 Prince Biilow, the chancellor, resigned when the Reichstag refused 
to vote his budget, partly to teach the conservatives, who turned against him, 
a lesson. 

3 The criminal law was revised in 1871, the civil code put into effect in 1900, 
and the courts were reorganized in 1877. 

4 The basis of this is the mark, of about the value of twenty-five cents. 



German Empire and Third French Republic 629 

which he wished to assert the supremacy of the civil law in 
Germany. Education, even of priests, was to be under close 
government supervision. The Jesuits and other orders were 
expelled for their opposition to what Bismarck called " a 
struggle for culture," * and the pope's protests were unheeded. 
The effect upon the Catholics was to drive them into a solid 
political party; and soon Bismarck found it to his advantage 
to stop his anticlerical policy in order to win the support of 
this party, 2 which was naturally conservative, against a new 
and disturbing element, the socialists. 

Socialism', as we have seen, 3 grew out of the Industrial Revo- Rise of the 
lution. This did not get fully under way in Germany until after crats 
the middle of the nineteenth century, but in the period we are 
describing, Germany was undergoing a rapid and profound 
change. Large manufacturing towns sprang up ; railways were 
built ; and the working classes began to feel themselves in need 
of defense against the tyranny of the new mill owners. In addi- 
tion to the formation of labor unions a new political party 
appeared, known as the Social Democratic Labor party, which 
based its platform upon the teachings of Karl Marx. In 1875 
this platform was boldly published, 4 and in the elections of that 
year the Social Democrats polled some four hundred and forty 
thousand votes. 

Bismarck, naturally very conservative, grew alarmed, and in Their sup- 
1878 had a law passed to suppress socialistic agitation alto- 
gether. It prohibited meetings, publications, and associations 
having for their purpose " the subversion of the public order " 
and threatened to call out the soldiers to put down labor 
disturbances. Leading socialists were imprisoned, and the 

1 In German, Kulturkamfif. 

2 This is known as the party of the Center, from the fact that it is seated in 
the center of the Reichstag. The real Conservative party is the Agrarian Union, 
representing large landowners. The Liberals find their support in the cities. 
There are various groups of these : some — National Liberals — are for strong 
foreign policy, and most have given up their former attachment to free trade. 
There are also smaller groups. 3 See above, p. 591. 

4 Given in Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, p. 493= 



pression 



630 



Medieval and Modern Times 



State insur- 
ance against 
accident and 
sickness 



Insurance for 
the aged and 
incapacitated 



" State social- 
ism " criti- 
cized by 
socialists 



political activities of the socialists were crushed for the next 
twelve years. 

Yet secretly the socialists kept up their propaganda, and 
Bismarck became convinced that the only way to render the 
movement harmless was for the government to " steal the 
socialist thunder." In 1885, after some two years of discus- 
sion, he had two bills passed, providing for the insurance of 
working people against accident and sickness. In the case of 
accident insurance the employers were obliged to provide a 
fund to insure their employees-" against accidents. From this 
fund the workmen were to be compensated when partially or 
totally disabled and, in the case of death, provision was made 
for the family of the deceased. The sickness insurance law 
compels workingmen and women to insure themselves against 
sickness, but helps them to bear the burden by requiring the 
employer to pay a portion of the premium and to be respon- 
sible for carrying out the law. 

These measures were supplemented in 1889, after the acces- 
sion of the present Kaiser, by an old-age insurance law which 
compels every workman with an income under five hundred 
dollars a year to pay a certain proportion into a State fund 
which provides an annual pension for him after he has reached 
the age of seventy years. In case he is incapacitated earlier in 
life he may begin to draw the pension before he reaches that 
age. As in other forms of workingmen's insurance, the em- 
ployers pay a portion of the premium ; and the State also 
makes a regular contribution to every annuity paid. 1 In 19 13 
over twenty-five million persons were insured under these laws. 

These measures, by which the government assumes a large 
degree of oversight over the welfare of the working class, con- 
stitute what is known as "state socialism." Socialists, however, 
insist that the one most important element of socialism is lacking, 
namely, democratic control. It is a revival and extension of the 
paternalism so familiar to Prussia in the days of Frederick the 

1 See Readings in Modern European History , Vol. II, pp. 189 ff. 



German Empire cmd Third French Republic 631 

Great, and, however valuable as philanthropy, socialists claim 
that it still leaves the system of capitalist ownership, which keeps 
the poor from a fair share of what they earn. However, the 
State has kept enlarging its ownership of railways and of mines, 
and has engaged in other forms of productive employment. 1 

In foreign affairs Bismarck was very skillful. Russia had Bismarck 
been a valued friend during the period of German unification, affairs 
and for some years afterwards the three emperors of Germany, 
Russia, and Austria stood together against any chance of French 
revenge on Germany. But in 1878 Austria turned against 
Russia to check the latter's successful career in the Balkans. 2 
Bismarck then sided with Austria, with the result that the two 
central empires formed an alliance the next year. This alliance The Triple 
was joined by Italy 8 in 1882, and was known as the Triple 
Alliance. It lasted till the war of 19 14. 

In addition to thus safeguarding the German Empire by Protection 
treaties, Bismarck introduced in 1879 a protective tariff to expansion 121 
help the new manufactures which were so rapidly changing 
the country. Five years later he began vigorously to support 
schemes of colonization, especially in Africa, which had been 
mainly begun by private merchants and travelers. This policy 
of expansion was, as we shall see, 4 one of the causes of the 
war in 19 14. 

Reign of William II 

130. With the accession of the present Emperor, William II, 5 Accession of 
in 1888, Prince Bismarck lost his power. He had been im- jgss ' 
plicitly trusted by the old Kaiser, William I, who had been 

1 The total value of State-owned productive property is now about $7,000,000,000 
and the annual income about $300,000,000. This reduces taxes. The most im- 
portant State-owned industry is that of the railways, but the government is the 
largest mine owner in Prussia, and " natural resources " are conserved by State 
ownership everywhere. 2 See below, p. 695. 

3 See below, p. 736. 4 See Chapter VII. 

5 William 1 1 is the eldest son of Frederick (who succeeded his father, 
William I, in March, 1888, and died in June of the same year) and Victoria, 
the daughter of Queen Victoria of England. 



632 



Medieval and Modern Times 



content to leave the practical management of the empire 
largely in the hands of the chancellor. The new emperor 
proved a very different man. He was fond of making speeches x 
in which he had much to say of the power which God had 

given him ; indeed, he 
seemed to be a stout 
adherent of that concep- 
tion of kingship which 
Bossuet extracted from 
the Holy Scriptures and 
urged upon the willing 
Louis XIV. 2 On his 
accession to the throne 
he expressed himself as 
follows : " Summoned 
to the throne of my 
fathers, I have taken 
up the reins of govern- 
ment, looking for aid to 
the King of kings. I 
have sworn to God to 
follow the example of 
my fathers and be to 
my people a just and 
firm ruler, to nurture 
piety and the fear of 
God, to cherish peace, 
and to be a helper of the poor and oppressed, and a faithful 
guardian of justice." 

It is not strange that Bismarck, who, with firm hand, keen 
vision, and unswerving devotion, had guided the ship of state 
through troubled waters for over a quarter of a century, should 




Fig. 170. Dropping the Pilot 



1 See Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, pp. 193 ff., 199 ff. 

2 See Readings in Modem European History, Vol. I, pp. 5 ff. 

3 From a cartoon in Punch, 1890, by Sir John Tenniel. 



German Empire and Third French Republic 633 

have found it hard to tolerate the intervention of the inexperi- Bismarck 
enced young emperor. In March, 1890, he presented his resig- reslgns 
nation, and, amid a great demonstration of popular feeling, the 
" Iron Chancellor," the most extraordinary statesman Germany 
has ever produced, retired to private life. He had assumed 
no responsibility for the policies of William II, and may have 
cherished some bitterness against him. At any rate, after his 
death in 1898 these simple words were carved upon his tomb, 
" Here lies Prince Bismarck, a faithful servant of Emperor 
William I." Upon the announcement of Bismarck's resigna- 
tion William II declared : " I am as much afflicted as if I had 
lost my grandfather anew, but we must endure whatever God 
sends us, even if we should have to die for it. The post of 
officer of the quarterdeck of the ship of state has fallen to me. 
The course remains unchanged. Forward, with full steam ! " 

For a time it seemed as if William II proposed to conciliate Attitude of 
the socialist party, although he could not possibly have had any toward 
real sympathy with its aims. He pledged himself to continue sociallsm 
the social legislation begun by his grandfather, since he deemed 
it one of the duties of the State to relieve poverty ; and he 
declared that the welfare of the workingman lay close to his 
heart. Irritated, however, at his failure to check the expression 
of discontent on the part of the working classes, he grew angry 
and pronounced the social dtsnocrat as " nothing better than 
an enemy of the empire and his country." Of late the emperor 
has had less to say about helping the workingman. but he 
watches with no little uneasiness the steady increase of the 
number of socialist voters, of whom there are now over 
four million. 

During the reign of William II Germany grew astonishingly Growth of 
in wealth and population. The population in 1870 was about number/ ^ 
40,000,000 ; in 19 1 4 it was almost 68,000,000, a larger increase and wealth 
than in any other country in western Europe. Vast new cities 
grew up ; old ones- tore down their narrow streets, destroyed 
their slums, and spread out along miles of wide boulevards, as 



^34 



Medieval and Modern Times 



new as those of Chicago. The farmers prospered, owing to the 
new markets ; the workmen stopped migrating to America be- 
cause there were good times at home. From a relatively poor 
country, Germany became immensely rich and powerful. Its 
ships were on every sea, rivaling those of England ; it had 
banks in foreign cities to help its merchants, and the mark 




Fig. 171. Bridge across the Rhine at Maixz 

This beautiful bridge spans the Rhine where Julius Caesar built a bridge 
over nineteen hundred years before, to subdue the barbarian Germans 
of that day. Wooden stakes and iron spikes of Caesar's bridge are 
kept in the museum of Mainz. The new bridge is but one of many 
signs of the wealth and busy life of modern Germany 



German 
cities and 
their gov- 
ernment 



" Made in Germany " was to be found on articles in almost 
every civilized household. 

Even more remarkable than this great material prosperity was 
the systematic and scientific control not only of the great indus- 
tries but also of the cities of Germany. In these new cities, 
whose growth has often been as rapid as those of America, 
corrupt government is unknown, while at the same time the 
city owns and runs at a profit such " public utilities " as street 
railways, power and lighting plants, and slaughter-houses, and 




The Munition Works, Le Creusot, France 

France has relied much upon its artillery for defense, since Germany 
has more soldiers, but in the great war of 1914 the Germans had pre- 
pared more heavy cannon than the French who used mainly a lighter 
gun. The Creusot works are next to the German Krupp works in im- 
portance in Europe. This picture of them is from an etching by the 
American artist Mr. Joseph Pennell 



German Empire and Third French Republic 635 

even buys up great sections of city land to prevent specu- 
lators raising the rents. In short, a modern German city is a 
business corporation and is run on business principles. The 
mayor is chosen, generally by the city council, from a class of 
officials specially trained for this profession. If a mayor is suc- 
cessful a larger city calls him to preside over it, and pays him 
in both salary and honor. He is, therefore, not a popular citizen, 
elected because his neighbors like him, as in most other coun- 
tries, but a capable manager brought in to run the city's affairs. 
The result has been to make German cities models for the world. 

The technical education by which a candidate prepares him- The German 
self to become a " Burgomeister," as the mayor is called, is system 
only part of the general trend of German education in recent 
years. Every one is educated for a particular career — doctor, 
lawyer, tailor, or mechanic — from the public schools on. In 
this way the trades as well as the professions are filled with 
highly skilled men. Other nations think that Germany has 
carried this specialization too far; that it tends to destroy the 
independence of the citizen and make him merely an obedient 
tool of the State. However this may be, Germany has devel- 
oped, through its schools and its officials, efficiency and pros- 
perity ; and the other nations are copying its methods. 

Establishment of the Present French Republic 

131. When the news reached Paris of the surrender of The insur- 
Napoleon at Sedan, a group of republicans at once proclaimed j^e Paris 
a republic. A provisional government was hastily set up to Com „ mune 
carry on the war, and when it was over, a National Assembly 
was elected, in February, 187 1, to make peace with Germany. 
But peace was hardly made before this temporary government 
was called upon to subdue an insurrection of the Parisian popu- 
lace. The insurgents were afraid that the Assembly, which was 
largely composed of Royalists, wished to reestablish monarchy, 
so they organized a city government like the Commune of the 



636 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The surpris- 
ingly rapid 
recovery of 
France 



The French 
army 



The consti- 
tution of the 
present 
French 
Republic 



Revolution, 1 and prepared to defend Paris against the national 
troops. The struggle that followed was terrible. The rebels 
were guilty of atrocities, such as the murder of the Archbishop 
of Paris and other prisoners, and the army which was sent 
against them gave them no quarter. When, after two months of 
disorder, the forces of the commune were completely routed in 
a series of bloody street fights, in desperation they burned part 
of the city including two important public buildings, the Palace 
of the Tuileries and the city hall. The victorious government 
showed no mercy ; hundreds were shot after hasty court-martial, 
and the rebellion was put down in blood. More persons were 
killed than in the whole Reign of Terror. 

The National Assembly, under the presidency of the veteran 
statesman Thiers, then proceeded to get rid of the German 
garrisons by paying the huge indemnity to Germany. To the 
surprise of every one France paid the five billion francs in three 
years, and the country gradually recovered from the terrible loss 
and demoralization caused by the war. France also began to 
reorganize its army on the Prussian model, every Frenchman 
serving five years in active service 2 and fifteen in the reserve. 

The National Assembly had the further task of drawing up 
a constitution for France. There was much uncertainty for 
several years as to just what form the constitution would per- 
manently take. But the monarchists quarreled among them- 
selves and had no good candidate for the throne. 3 As a result, 

1 See pp. 499 and 513. 

2 This was gradually reduced later to two years' active service and eleven 
years in the reserve. In 1913, however, the term of active service was length- 
ened to three years, in order to keep pace with the increasing German army. 
See below, section 156. 

3 The monarchical party naturally fell into two groups. One, the so-called 
legitimists, believed that the elder Bourbon line, to which Louis XVI and 
Charles X had belonged, should be restored in the person of the count of 
Chambord, a grandson of Charles X. The Orleanists, on the other hand, wished 
the grandson of Louis Philippe, the count ofPwp, to be king. In 1873 tne 
Orleanists agreed to help the count of Oj^fofd to the throne as Henry V, 
but that prince frustrated the plan by refrRng to accept the national colors, — 
red, white, and blue, — which had become so endeared to the nation that it 
appeared dangerous to exchange them for the ancient white flag of the Bourbons. 



German Empire and Thh r d French Republic 637 

those who advocated maintaining the republic prevailed, and in 
1875 the Assembly passed a series of three laws organizing the 
government. These have since served France as a constitution. 
The president is elected for seven years by both Senate and President 

. i i t c i a °d parlia- 

Chamber of Deputies meeting together. 1 he real head 01 the m ent 
government, however, is the prime minister, who, with the 
other ministers form a cabinet, responsible to parliament, as 
in England. 1 

As one reviews the history of France since the establish- Permanent 
ment of the First Republic in 1792, it appears as if revolutionary the French 
changes of government had been very frequent. As a matter j^spite 1 ©/* 
of fact, the various revolutions produced far less change in the changes in 

' r * ° the consti- 

system of government than is usually supposed. They neither tution 
called in question the main provisions of the Declaration of the 
Rights of Man drawn up in 1789, nor did they materially alter 
the system of administration which was established by Napoleon 
immediately after his accession in 1800. So long as this was 
the case and the representatives of the nation were permitted 
to control the ruler, it really made little difference whether 
France was called an " empire/' a " constitutional monarchy," 
or a " republic." 

After the republicans had got control of parliament and had The republic 
elected a republican president in 1879, there were still two 
centers of Royalist influence, the army and the Church. Most 
of the higher officers in the army came from aristocratic fami- 
lies, as in other European countries, and they were naturally 

1 The parliament of France differs from the Congress of the United States 
or the Parliament of Great Britain in the way it works. Instead of having two 
great parties there are about ten groups of members, each representing certain 
ideas. A few monarchists still sit on the seats at the extreme right of the 
speaker's desk, or tribune. Next to them sit very conservative republicans. 
The largest group is that of the " radicals," or reformers, while at the left are 
quite a number of socialists, representing the working classes. The cabinet 
must have the support of a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, as the 
house of representatives is called, which is elected every four years by uni- 
versal male suffrage. The Senate is elected for nine years by a more compli- 
cated system, one hundred being elected every third year, and tends to be more 
conservative than the Chamber. 



and the army 




638 



German Empire and Third French Republic 639 

ready to side against the republic if the Royalist leaders should Boulanger's 
give them a chance. This was made clear in two incidents, the overturn the 
"Boulanger affair" and the "Dreyfus case." About 1890 ^public 
General Boulanger, a popular officer, began courting the favor 
of the army and the workingmen in much the same way that 
Napoleon III had done when he was planning to make himself 
master of France. The monarchists supported him in the hope 
of overthrowing the republic. He was elected by a huge ma- 
jority to the Chamber of Deputies, and for a time it seemed as 
though he might make himself a dictator. He was accused of 
conspiring against the State, however, and fled from France, 
leaving the monarchists chagrined and the republic secure. 

Some four years later a Jewish officer from Alsace, Captain The " Drey 
Alfred Dreyfus, was convicted by court-martial of being a spy 
for the German army. His friends claimed that he had not 
had a fair trial; the heads of the army took this as an attack 
upon their honor, and the nation became much aroused over 
the controversy. After a second trial by court-martial in which 
he was again declared guilty, Dreyfus was finally pronounced 
innocent by the highest court in France, in 1906. The impor- 
tance of " the affair" politically was that the government finally 

* Paris is regarded by many as the most beautiful city in Europe. It 
was largely rebuilt in the nineteenth century, mainly according to the 
plans of Napoleon Ill's engineers, who laid out broad, shaded streets 
and added many fine public buildings. South of the river is the Latin 
Quarter, where are the University and the art schools. Along the north- 
ern bank stretches the vast palace of the Louvre, the greatest art 
gallery in the world, from the roof of which this picture was taken. On 
the island, beyond the chapel of the Palace of Justice (see p. 520), rises 
the majestic cathedral of Notre Dame. 

The colored picture opposite page 642 shows the grand staircase 
of the Opera House, which stands in the center of the city. It is the 
most magnificent building devoted to music in the world, and was be- 
gun by Napoleon III but completed by the Third Republic. The pic- 
ture shows an opening night when the high officials of the government 
come in state. Once a month free performances by the best artists 
are given, which are open to the people of Paris; for the French 
government, like other European governments, supports art by national 
subsidies. 



640 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The republic 
and the 
Church 



The school 
question 



The clergy 
as salaried 
officials of 
the State 



determined to get rid of the Royalist army officers so that the 
army could be relied upon to be republican. It also produced 
an alliance, called the bloc, or " block," of republicans of all 
shades, from socialists to conservatives, for the purpose of 
lessening the political importance of the army and the Church. 

The Catholic clergy from the first had been hostile to the 
republic, for the republicans stood for such things as a national 
public-school system free from Church control, liberty of the 
press, and ■ other ideas which seemed to be undermining the 
authority of the Church. 1 A public-school system was estab- 
lished in which clergymen were forbidden to teach, and the 
private schools, which had been mainly run by religious orders, 
were placed under strict government inspection. As the monastic 
orders opposed the carrying out of this and similar laws, which 
they regarded as persecution, parliament finally closed their 
schools and forced the orders to disband. As a result many 
monks and nuns left France. 

The next step was "more far-reaching. By the treaty, or 
"Concordat," of 1801 between Napoleon and the pope, the 
bishops were appointed by the government, and the salaries of 
all the clergy were paid by the State, 2 much as had been the 
case in the old regime. The clergy, therefore, naturally a very 
influential class because of their religious duties, were also gov- 
ernment officials. Their opposition to the policies of the repub- 
licans led the latter to demand that the Concordat should be 
ended and the government stop paying some forty million francs 
a year to clergymen who seemed to them to be mainly intent 
upon stirring up hostility to the republic. 



1 The treatment of the clergy in the great Revolution was never forgotten. 
In the period of the Restoration it was commonly stated that Throne and Altar 
were inseparable institutions. Napoleon III had been a strong defender of the 
papacy. Hence the hostility of the clergy to the Third Republic was largely 
political. 

2 Although the Catholic religion was recognized as that of the majority of 
Frenchmen, the State also recognized the Reformed (Calvinist) and Lutheran 
churches and the Jewish religious community. These readily accepted the 
separation of Church and State, however. 



German Empire and Third French Repnblic 64 1 

Many of these republicans had ceased, in any case, to be- The separa- 
lieve in what the Church taught, and finally a law was passed church and 
in 1905 to separate Church and State in France. The Church State 
buildings had belonged to the State since the first revolution, 
in 1789, and there was some trouble as to how they were to be 
turned over to the clergy for religious services when the latter 
refused to accept the settlement. Finally, in 1906, the govern- 
ment placed the churches and their furniture at the disposal of 
the priests. On the other hand, in order to punish the clergy for 
not obeying the law, palaces of bishops and seminaries have 
been turned into schools, hospitals, and other public institutions. 
It is said that the Catholic Church in France is now prospering 
although dependent, as in America, upon voluntary support. 

France under the Third Republic has steadily advanced in Progress 
wealth, the French people being noted for their thrift and Thhd g Re^ 
economy. The savings of French peasants have enabled the P ubhc 
great banks to loan money to other nations, particularly Russia, 
so that Paris has grown to rival London as the money center 
of the world. France has been slower than Germany to adopt 
governmental measures for improving the condition of working- 
men, although in recent years it has copied most of the plans of 
social insurance described above. 1 The slowness with which it 
has taken up these ideas is mainly due to the fact that the peas^ 
ants and the richer classes can combine to control a majority of 
votes in the parliament, and as they derive little benefit from 
such laws, while on the other hand they pay most of the taxes, 
they are inclined to refuse to make the necessary appropria- 
tions. France is therefore a relatively conservative nation. 

The result of this is that the working classes in the cities have The syndi- 
ceased to hope for very much help by way of laws. Although un j ' ns 
they still send socialists to represent them in parliament, they 
rely rather upon trade-unions. These are called syndicatshy the 
French, and the more determined of these unions propose to 
win their way by strikes until they can force the capitalists to 
l See above, p. 630. 




642 Medieval a7id Modem Times 

turn their capital over to the laborers. Such a method of attack 
upon employers is known as "syndicalism" — a name applied 
to it in England and America as well. 

In spite of recurring troubles of this kind, however, France 
has prospered, especially in recent years. It has also entered 
upon a policy of expansion in Africa and Asia, which involved 
it in trouble with Germany, as we shall see later. 1 

QUESTIONS 

Section i 28. How did the North German Federation grow into 
the German Empire? What are the powers of the Kaiser? Con- 
trast the position of the Bundesrath with that of the United States 
Senate. Where are important laws initiated in the German parlia- 
ment? Describe the Reichstag. What reform is it in greatest 
need of? What important reforms has the federal system brought 
to Germany? 

Section 129. What permanent effects came from Bismarck's 
struggle with the Catholic Church? Why did socialism appear in 
Germany at about the period of unification? What effect did 
persecution have upon socialism in Germany? Give the terms of 
Bismarck's laws of state insurance. Why did socialists refuse to 
accept state socialism? How did the Triple Alliance come into 
being? When did Bismarck begin a colonial policy? 

Section 130. Compare the characters of Frederick the Great 
and William II. Why did Bismarck resign? Describe the growth 
of Germany since unification. How are German cities governed? 
Is a German mayor necessarily a citizen of the town when appointed? 

/ow is the German educational system different from ours ? 
Section 131. How did the present French republic originate? 
What events in Paris in 1870 suggest the Reign of Terror? What is 
the nature of the present French constitution ? What parties existed 
in France after 1871 ? Review the main changes in the form of the 
French government since the assembling of the Estates General in 
1789. How could the army endanger the existence of the republic? 
How did the army become republican? Why was the Church against 
the republic? What did the Church lose when the Concordat was 
ended? What are the ideas of the syndicalists? Is France a 
gressive nation? 

1 See p. 734. 



K 








i 






3 




Opening of the Opera, Paris 



CHAPTER XXXI 

GREAT BRITAIN AND HER EMPIRE 

The English Constitution 

132. In the eighteenth century England seemed to have, in Position of 
comparison with other countries, a model of free government. 1 p^i^^Jft 
By the Bill of Rights (1689) 2 the king was forbidden to make 
any new laws, or neglect any old ones, or lay any taxes, or 
keep a standing army without the consent of Parliament. He 
was not to interfere with freedom of speech, or refuse to 
receive respectful petitions from his subjects. Even the right 
that the king of England had formerly enjoyed of vetoing bills 
passed by Parliament fell into disuse and was exercised for the 
last time by Queen Anne in 1707. In short, the power of mak- 
ing laws was taken over by the English Parliament, at a time 
when Continental countries were rul£d by benevolent despots. 

The English king could not arbitrarily arrest and punish his The king of 
subjects. The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 provided that any not control 
one who was arrested should be informed of the reason and of G i a ^ urts 
should be speedily tried by a regular tribunal and dealt with 
according to the law of the land. In France, down to the 
Revolution, there were none of these restrictions placed upon 
the king, who could arrest his subjects on lettres de cachet, im- 
prison them indefinitely without assigning a reason, and could 
interfere in any suit and decide it as he chose. 

The English had, therefore, won two important safeguards 
for their liberties — a parliament to make their laws, and a 

1 For the rise of Parliament see above, pp. 127 f., 365 f. 

2 See above, p. 385. 

643 



644 



Medieval and Modern Times 



good system of courts of justice to see that the laws were 
properly carried out. 1 But in the nineteenth century it became 
apparent that there was great need of reform in both branches 
of the government. 



Necessity of 
reforms in 
England 



Origin of 
the " rotten 
boroughs " 



Few persons 
permitted 
to vote ; 
many seats 
controlled 
by members 
of the House 
of Lords 

Prevalence 
of bribery 



The Reform of the Suffrage 

133. The reform of Parliament was the most pressing need, 
for Parliament had ceased to represent the nation at large and 
had become a council of wealthy landlords and nobles. This 
was due to two things. In the first place, there were the so-called 
" rotten boroughs." Such towns as had in earlier times sent 
their two representatives each to Parliament continued still to 
do so, regardless of the number of their inhabitants, and no 
new boroughs had been added to the list since the reign of 
Charles II. 2 On the other hand, towns which had developed 
under the influence of the Industrial Revolution, like Birming- 
ham, Manchester, and Leeds, had no representatives at all/ 

In the second place, few persons had a right to vote even in 
the towns which were permitted to send representatives to the 
House of Commons. Many of the boroughs were owned out- 
right by members of the Jlouse of Lords or others, who easily 
forced the few voters to choose any candidate they proposed. 3 

Bribery was prevalent and was fostered by the system of 
public balloting. 4 By long-established custom the price of a 
vote at Hull was two guineas (something over ten dollars), at 
Stafford, seven. 

The reform of the suffrage proved a very difficult matter. 
Those in control of the elections managed to prevent any 

1 The English constitution is an unwritten one and therefore can be changed 
readily if necessary, but the English have been, upon the whole, very slow to 
make any important changes. 

2 Dunwich, which had been buried under the waters of the North Sea for two 
centuries, was duly represented, as well as the famous borough of Old Sarum, 
which was only a grassy mound where a town had once stood. 

3 A very cautious scholar of our own day estimates that not more than one 
third of the representatives in the House of Commons were fairly chosen. 

4 Secret ballot was not established until 1872. 



Great Britain arid her Empire 645 

change for years in spite of the demands made not only by How the 
the working classes but by rich business men for the right to oAs-Twas 
vote. Finally, in 1832, after two years of debate, a reform P assed 
bill was forced through in spite of the firm opposition of the 
House of Lords. 1 

According to its provisions fifty-six "rotten boroughs," each Provisions of 
containing less than two thousand inhabitants, were entirely Bi u f ° 8 r ™ 
deprived of representation ; thirty-two more, with less than 
four thousand inhabitants, lost one member each ; and forty- 
three new boroughs were created with one or two members 
each, according to their respective populations. The suffrage 
was given in the towns to all citizens who owned or rented 
houses worth ten pounds a year (about fifty dollars), and to 
renters as well as owners of lands of a certain value in the 
country 7 . In this way the shopkeepers and manufacturers and 
some of the more prosperous people in the country were given 
the right to vote ; but nearly" all workingmen and agricultural 
laborers were still excluded from the franchise. 

The great Reform Bill of 1832 was therefore not really a The Reform 
triumph for democracy. The disappointment among the poorer f^ f r 0m f 
classes over their exclusion from the vote was great and wide- democratlc 

& measure 

spread. The reformers at last agreed on pressing six demands, 

which they embodied in a charter ; to wit : universal suffrage, 

vote by secret ballot, parliaments elected annually, payment of 

members of Parliament, abolition of property qualifications for 

members of Parliament, and equal electoral districts. This 

charter soon won thousands of adherents, to whom the name The chartist 

of " Chartists " was given. Great meetings and parades were 

held all over England ; the charter was transformed into a 

petition to which it was claimed that over a million signatures 

were, obtained. This petition was presented to Parliament in 

1839 only to be rejected by a large vote. 

1 The king allowed the prime minister " to create such a number of peers 
as will insure the passage of the bill." The Lords, afraid of such a wholesale 
change, yielded. 



6 4 6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Some of the Despairing of securing reforms by peaceful means, some of 

advocate tne leaders began openly to advocate revolutionary violence, 

violence anc j r i ting spread to such an extent that the government 

had to resort to extraordinary police measures to suppress it. 



Final Chart- 
ist petition 
of 1848 








jut* js ^a^ x mf 







Fig. 1 73. The Parliament Buildings, London 

This massive pile stands on the site of an old royal palace, between 
Westminster Abbey, which is not shown but is just across the street 
at the right, and the river Thames, which runs along the other side. 
The House of Commons met in the chapel of this palace — St. Stephens 
— from the middle of the sixteenth century until 1834, when the palace 
was burned down, with the exception of the great hall with the plain 
roof in the foreground. The new building, completed in 1867, is richly 
ornamented. From its main tower, 340 feet high, a flag is flown by 
day when Parliament is in session, and by night a light shines over the 
clock tower, in which is hung the bell called " big Ben " 

The Revolution of 1848 in France gave the signal for the 
last great outburst of Chartist enthusiasm. Owing to the hard 
times in that year thousands of workmen were unemployed, 
and the poor were roused to bitter hatred for a government 
that replied to demands for reform by calling out the police. 



Great Britain and her Empire 647 

Preparations were made to present another gigantic petition to 
the House of Commons, to which it was claimed that six mil- 
lion names had been secured, and the Chartist leaders deter- 
mined to overawe Parliament by a march on London. This 
show of force was frustrated by the aged duke of Wellington, 
then commander of the troops policing London. Parliament 
refused to take action and the movement collapsed. 

In spite of the failure of the Chartists the demand for a Reform bills 
more democratic government spread and, finally, in 1867, the \%\, 7 ai 
House of Commons passed a reform bill which doubled the 
number of voters. In 1884 the Liberal party under Gladstone 
succeeded in further increasing the number by two millions. 
These various measures served to establish something ap- 
proaching the manhood suffrage already common on the Con- 
tinent, although many men were still excluded from voting, 
especially the unmarried laborers who, owing to the low rents 
in England, did not pay as much as ten pounds a year for 
unfurnished lodgings. 

For twenty years the matter of the franchise excited little at- The question 
tention, for the Conservatives were in power and were satisfied suffrage 
to leave things alone. But when the Liberal party was again 
called to the helm in 1906, it had to face not only the ques- 
tion of including more men among the voters but the much 
more novel demand that women also should be allowed to 
vote. The Industrial Revolution, by opening up new employ- 
ments to women, has given them a certain kind of inde- 
pendence which they never before had. During the latter part 
of the nineteenth century women were admitted to universities, 
and colleges began to be established for them as well as for 
men. All these' things have produced the demand that women 
be given the right to vote. 

In 1870 the women of England were given the right to vote steady exten- 
for members of the newly created school boards, and in 1888 sSfrage^o 
and 1894 they were admitted to the franchise in certain local women 
government matters. In 1893 women were enfranchised in 



648 



Medieval and Modem Times 



New Zealand. Shortly after the establishment of the new Com- 
monwealth of Australia in 190 1 full parliamentary suffrage was 
granted to them. In 1906 the women of Finland, and in 1907, 
19 1 2, and 19 1 5 the women of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark 
respectively, were given the vote on the same terms as men. 
The British government, however, steadily refused to grant 
woman suffrage. As a result, some leaders of the suffrage 
movement, notably Mrs. Pankhurst, resorted to violent demon- 
strations, but this apparently alienated lukewarm supporters, and 
Parliament finally, in 19 13, rejected a bill proposing a general 
reform of the suffrage, in which women should share. 



English polit- 
ical parties 



Party govei 
merit 



The cabinet 



The Cabinet 

134. Since the Civil War, in the seventeenth century, there 
have been two great political parties in England : (1) the 
Tories, — in recent times called Conservatives} — the successors 
of the Cavaliers, as the supporters of Charles I were named 
(they believed in defending the powers claimed by the king 
and the English Church) ; (2) the Whigs, or Liberals, the suc- 
cessors of the Roundhead, or parliamentary, party of Charles I's 
time (this party had overthrown the Stuarts, gained the Bill 
of Rights, and in the nineteenth century won the name of 
Reform party, from the kind of laws which it advocated). 

The party which happens to have the majority of votes in 
the House of Commons claims the right to manage the govern- 
ment of the country as long as they retain their majority. The 
leader of the party in power is accepted by the monarch as 
his prime minister, or premier. He and his associates form 
a cabinet which for the time being is the real ruler of the 
British empire. 

This device of cabinet government under a premier was put 
into operation in the time of George I, a German unable to 

1 When Gladstone introduced his Home Rule Bill for Ireland in 1886, many 
Liberals who opposed it deserted to join the Conservatives, who have since 
generally been called Unionists, 



Great Britain and her Empire 649 

speak English, who did not attend the meetings of his ministers. 
The little group of ministers constituting the cabinet got into 
the habit of holding its sessions and reaching its decisions 
without the presence of the king. 

Since the House of Commons will not vote the money neces- The cabinet 
sary to carry on the government after it has lost confidence in ^ ent ar 
the cabinet, the cabinet has to resign as soon as it is convinced 
by the defeat of any of its measures that it no longer controls 
a majority of votes. The king then appoints the leader of the 
opposite party as premier and asks him to form a cabinet. It 
may happen, however, that the defeated cabinet believes that 
the country is on its side. In this case it will ask the king to 
dissolve Parliament and have a new election, with the hope 
that it will gain a majority in that way. So it is clear that the 
cabinet regards itself as responsible not merely to Parliament 
but to the nation at large. 

As the members of the House of Commons are not elected Parliament 
for a definite term of years (though, according to a law passed responsible 
in 19 1 1, a new general election must be held at least every 
five years), that body may be dissolved at any time for the 
purpose of securing an expression of the popular will on any 
important issue. It is thus clear that the British government 
is more sensitive to public opinion than are governments 
where the members of the legislatures are chosen for a definite 
term of years. 1 

1 The English sovereign is still crowned with traditional pomp ; coins and 
proclamations still assert that he rules "by the grace of God"; and laws pur- 
port to be enacted "by the king's most excellent Majesty, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Par- 
liament assembled." But the monarch reigns rather than rules ; he is still 
legally empowered to veto any bill passed by Parliament, but he never exercises 
this power. He has in reality only the right to be consulted, the right to encour- 
age, and the right to warn. He cannot permanently oppose the wishes of the 
majority in Parliament, for should he venture to do so, he could always be 
brought to terms by cutting off the appropriations necessary to conduct his 
government. 



to the nation 



650 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Freedom 
of speech 



Laws affect- 
ing Dis- 
senters 
repealed, 
1828 



Catholic 
Emancipa- 
tion Act, 1829 



Public 
schools 



General Reforms in England 

135. In addition to the reforms in their Parliament the 
English have gradually altered their laws with a view of giving 
the people greater freedom and of improving their condition 
in important respects. 

One of the most important conditions of a free people is the 
right of free speech, free press, and liberty to meet for political 
discussions. Although during the eighteenth century English 
laws were less oppressive than those on the Continent, 1 it was 
not until the middle of the nineteenth century that full liberty 
of speech was attained. Now England is very proud of this 
necessary institution of democracy. 2 

England was a country of religious freedom in the eighteenth 
century, but those Protestants who disagreed with the State 
Church — namely the Dissenters — and Catholics were ex- 
cluded from public offices. After long agitation this restriction 
was removed. In 1828 the old laws directed against Dissenters 
were repealed on condition that those seeking office should 
take an oath not to use their influence to injure or weaken the 
established Church of England. The following year the Catho- 
lics were put on the footing of other citizens by the passage of 
the Emancipation Act, which admitted them to both houses of 
Parliament and to almost all public offices upon condition that 
they would renounce their belief in the right of the Pope to 
interfere in temporal matters and would disclaim all intention 
of attacking the Protestant religion. 

In 1843 a tmr ^ of the men and half of the women of 
England could not sign their names. Since 1870 the govern- 
ment has been providing for the founding of free public schools, 
and as a result almost all Englishmen now learn to read and 
write. As newspapers may now be had for a cent, or two 

1 See above, pp. 455, 459, and 465. 

2 A somewhat amusing illustration of the extent of this tolerance is the way 
the British police will protect from his audience an anarchist or a republican 
attacking the monarchy. 



Great Britain and her Empire 651 

cents, almost every one who cares to do so is in a position to 
buy, read them, and learn what is going on in the world. 

The English criminal law was barbarous at the opening of Reform of 
the nineteenth century. There were no less than two hundred i aw 
and fifty offenses for which the penalty of death was established. 
In 18 1 5 a young woman was executed for stealing a trifling 
article, the judge declaring that he wanted to make an example 
of her; and some years later a boy nine years old was sen- 
tenced to death for breaking a window and stealing four cents' 
worth of paint from a shop. It is estimated that between 18 10 
and 1845 there were fourteen hundred executions for acts which 
were later no longer regarded as capital offenses. It required 
many years of agitation, however, to move the British Parlia- 
ment, and it was only by the gradual process of abolishing one 
death sentence after another that the long list of capital offenses 
was at last reduced to three in 1861. 

In 1835, a ^ ter a parliamentary investigation had revealed the Prison 
horrible conditions of prisons, a law was passed providing for re orm 
government inspection and the improvement of their adminis- 
tration, and this marked the beginning of prison reform, which 
includes sanitary buildings, separation of the sexes, and of the 
hardened criminals from the younger offenders, and a more 
enlightened treatment of criminals generally, with a view to 
reform them and protect society rather than to wreak vengeance 
upon them. 

The cruelty of the criminal law had its origin in the Middle Wretched- 
Ages, but with the coming of the Industrial Revolution in the j n t y le 
reign of George III new forms of inhumanity had arisen. J^jJ 
These were the result of the factory system, which brought un- 
told misery to the working classes of England. Great factory 
buildings were hastily erected by men ignorant of the most ele- 
mentary principles of sanitary science and often too avaricious 
to care for anything but space enough to operate the machines 
and light enough to enable the laborers to do their work. 
Around the factories there sprang up long, dreary rows of 



652 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Horrors of 
child labor 



General 
misery of the 
factory hands 
and opera- 
tives in the 
mines 



Opposition 
of economists 
and states- 
men to 
factory 
legislation 



grimy brick cottages where the workmen and their families 
were crowded together. 

The introduction of steam-driven machinery had made pos- 
sible the use of child labor on a large scale. Parliamentary 
reports tell us of children under five years of age working in 
the mines, of coal drawers but little older crawling on hands 
and knees through narrow subterranean passages and dragging 
heavy carts of coal, and of mere lads laboring in pin mills for 
twelve hours a day. 

The conditions of adult labor, save in the most skilled classes, 
were almost as wretched as those of child labor. Dangerous 
machinery was not properly safeguarded, and the working 
time was excessively prolonged. The misery of the poor is 
reflected in Mrs. Browning's poem, "The Cry of the Chil- 
dren," in the bitter scorn which Carlyle poured out on the 
heads of the factory owners, and in the vivid word pictures 
of Dickens. 

The working classes were excluded from representation in 
Parliament and denied opportunities for education. The states- 
men of the time refused to take action in their behalf until 
after long and violent agitation. In this refusal Parliament 



* Queen Victoria was much beloved by the British, and her name 
is connected with the proudest age of the British empire. English 
literature and art of the last half of the nineteenth century is often 
spoken of as belonging to the Victorian age, and it was in her reign 
that the colonies became self-governing " dominions." The celebra- 
tion of the Diamond Jubilee of the queen's reign in 1897 was the 
most magnificent spectacle of modern times. It was attended by prac- 
tically all the other sovereigns of Europe, including Victoria's grandson, 
the German emperor, and it brought together, for the first time, the 
statesmen of the widely scattered " dominions beyond the seas." One 
should have in mind all this splendor and power of the empress-queen 
when one looks at this picture of the young girl who was roused from 
her sleep on June 20, 1837, by the Archbishop of Canterbury and 
another official, to be told of the death of her uncle, William IV, and 
her accession to the throne. Victoria received them with quiet dignity, 
although clad in wrapper and shawl, with her hair falling over her 
shoulders and her feet hurriedly thrust into slippers. 




Queen Victoria notified of her Accession * 



Great Britain and her Empire 653 

was supported by most political economists, who defended the 
rights of mill owners, holding that reforms would make matters 
worse by stopping business altogether. 

Finally, in 1833, Parliament, after much investigation, re- Report of 
duced the hours of child labor in cotton and woolen mills to xnfsSor^of 1 " 
nine a day, and in 1842 women and children were forbidden to * 8 33 ; agita- 
work in the mines. It was not until 1847 that a bill was passed a ten-hour 
restricting the labor of women and children in mills to ten hours women and 
per day exclusive of mealtime. chl ren 

With this great victory for the reformers the general resist- 
ance to State interference was broken down, and year after 
year, through the long reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) 
and those of her successors, new measures were carried 
through Parliament, revising and supplementing earlier laws, 
until to-day England does more than any other European 
country to protect the factory operatives. 

England is famous for its free trade, while almost all other England's 
countries protect their manufacturers by a tariff imposing cus- 
toms duties on most articles imported from foreign countries. 
England believed heartily in protection and shipping laws until 
about the middle of the nineteenth century, when English manu- 
facturers decided that they could compete with the world on 
a free-trade basis. First, all duties on grain (the Corn Laws) 
were abolished, and then, between 1852 and 1867, all navi- 
gation laws and protective duties were done away with. In 
recent years there has been a growing agitation in favor of 
restoring protective duties, on the ground that English goods 
have to pay duties when they reach foreign lands where pro- 
tective tariffs are in force. 

The Conservatives — or, as they had come to be called, 
the Unionists — were (except for a short period) in power for 
twenty years, from 1886 to 1906, and interest in general reform 
seemed to have died out in England. But in 1906 a general The Liberals 
election took place and the Liberals, reenforced by a new labor i^-Tgi^ 
party and the Irish Nationalists, came into control of the House 



Social 
reforms 



654 



Medieval and Modern Times 



of Commons. A new period of reform then began which con- 
tinued until it was interrupted by the outbreak of the general 
European war in 1 9 1 4. 

The parties in power agreed that something must be done 
to relieve the fearful poverty and degradation in which a great 
part of the population lived. Bills were introduced providing 




Fig. 174. Lloyd-George 



Asquith and 
Lloyd- 
George 



help for those injured in factories and pensions for aged work- 
men no longer able to earn a livelihood ; for diminishing the 
evils of sweatshops, where people worked for absurdly low 
wages ; for securing work for the unemployed ; for providing 
meals for poor school children ; and for properly housing the 
less well-to-do and so getting rid of slums. 

In 1908 Asquith became prime minister and David Lloyd- 
George became Chancellor of the Exchequer, in charge of the 
nation's finances. In April, 1 909, Lloyd-George made his famous 



Great Britain and her Empire 



655 



budget speech, 1 in which he declared that if the reforms were to 
be carried out a great deal of money was necessary. More taxes 
must be collected, but from those best able to pay them, not from 
the poor. Every one should make his contribution according 
to his ability. So he advocated that the income tax should be in- 
creased on incomes above $25,000, that it should be lighter on 
earned than on unearned incomes ; that those holding land in the 
neighborhood of cities with a view to a rise in value and those 



The budget 
of 1909 




Fig. 175. Model Houses for English Workingmen 

One of the most noticeable changes in the condition of the working 

people is the erection of pleasant homes, like these, in place of the 

tenements in slums. England has done much in this line, as have also 

Germany and other European countries 2 



who happened to have mineral deposits under their property 
should share their profit with the government ; that automobiles, 
and gasoline for their use, should pay a heavier tax. Lastly, that 
the tax on large inheritances, already heavy, should be increased. 

He said in closing : "I am told that no chancellor of the The war 
exchequer has ever been called on to impose such heavy taxes upon misery 
in a time of peace. This is a war budget. It is for raising 

1 That is, the speech on presenting the annual budget, or financial estimates 
for the coming year. 

2 A recent law in England places vacant land, especially near cities, at the 
disposal of those who will cultivate it in garden plots, at very low rental. The 
horrible poverty of the middle of the last century has been lessened very much 
by these devices of the reforming government, aided by national prosperity. 



656 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The House 
of Lords 
humbled 



Social 
insurance 



money to wage implacable warfare against poverty and squalid- 
ness. I cannot help hoping and believing that before this gen- 
eration has passed away we shall have advanced a great step 
towards that good time w T hen poverty and wretchedness and 
human degradation, which always follow in its camp, will be 
as remote to the people of this country as the wolves which 
once infested its forests." 1 

The budget advocated by Lloyd-George passed the House 
of Commons but was rejected by the indignant House of Lords. 
Parliament was dissolved and a new election held to show that 
the voters were on the side of the ministry. Then the Lords 
yielded ; but the Liberals had been so exasperated at their op- 
position that, by the Parliament Act of 191 1, they took away 
the power of the Lords to interfere effectively in future with 
the will of the people as expressed in the elections. 2 

The following year (191 1) Lloyd-George introduced a 
national insurance bill which should provide against sickness, 
disability for work, and unemployment. This, like the earlier 
old-age insurance, followed the example already set by Germany 
(see above, p. 630). The payments for the insurance were to 
be made by the employer, the worker, and the State, each con- 
tributing a certain part. The Liberal party was able to force 
the bill through, and it became a law. It was at first very 

1 It will be noticed that Lloyd-George and his supporters, before imposing 
taxes, not only asked how much a man had but how he got his income. Those 
who work their lands or conduct mines or factories are to be treated with more 
consideration than those who owe their incomes to the efforts of others. In this 
way they introduced a new principle of taxation, which was vigorously denounced 
by the Conservatives as revolutionary and socialistic. 

2 According to the terms of this important act, any bill relating to raising 
taxes, or making appropriations, which the House of Commons passes and sends 
up to the House of Lords at least one month before the close of a session, may 
become a law even if the House of Lords fails to ratify it. Other bills passed by 
the Commons at three successive sessions and rejected by the Lords may also 
be presented to the king for his signature and become laws in spite of their 
rejection by the upper house. In this way control of the financial policy of the 
government is practically taken out of the hands of the House of Lords, and in 
the case of all other laws the House of Commons is able, by a little patience and 
waiting a couple of years, to do what it pleases without regard to the sentiments 
of the peers. 



Great Britain and her Empire 657 

unpopular, however — the employers disliked the additional bur- 
den, the workmen and servants did not like to have their wages 
taken for the benefit of others, and the doctors resented the 
terms upon which they had to treat the sick under the new law. 
But when the payments began to be made the dissatisfaction 
died down. 

The Irish Question 

136. Among the most serious problems that have- constantly The English 
agitated Parliament during the past century is the Irish ques- 
tion. As early as the time of Henry II (11 54-1 189) Ireland 
began to be invaded by the English, who seized lands from 
which they enjoyed the revenue. 'The Irish revolted under 
Elizabeth and again under Cromwell. They were cruelly pun- 
ished, and more estates were confiscated. In 1688 the Irish 
sided with the Catholic king, James II, and were again subdued 
and more land was taken. 

Now the English landlords, to whom these estates were Absentee 
given, and their descendants, for the most part, lived in Eng- 
land. In the nineteenth century millions of pounds yearly were 
drained away from Ireland to pay absentee landlords, who 
rarely set foot in that country and took little or no interest in 
their tenants beyond the collection of their rents. If the tenants 
did not pay or could not pay, they were speedily evicted from 
their cottages and lands. It was estimated in 1847 that about 
one third of the entire rental of Ireland was paid to absentee 
landlords. 

Throughout large portions of Ireland the peasants were The condi- 
constantly on the verge of starvation. They were deprived of peasantry 6 
nearly all incentive to improve their little holdings, because they 
were liable to be evicted and lose the results of their labors. 
Whenever there was a failure of the potato crop, on which 
from one third to one half the population depended for food, 
there were scenes of misery in Ireland which defy description . 
This was the case in the " Black Year of Forty-Seven," when 



658 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Question of 
the Irish 
Catholics 



Irish land 
question 



Home Rule 



the potato crop failed almost entirely and thousands died of 
starvation in spite of the relief afforded by the government. 
It was in the midst of this terrible famine that the stream of 
emigration began to flow toward America. Within half a cen- 
tury four million emigrants left the shores of Ireland for other 
countries, principally the United States, taking with them their 
bitter resentment against England. 

When England became Protestant she attempted to convert 
Ireland, but the Irish remained faithful to the pope and the 
Roman Catholic Church. The English then set up their own 
Church in Ireland, drove out the Catholic priests, and substi- 
tuted for them clergymen of the Church of England. Although 
the Protestants in Ireland numbered only one in ten of the 
population, the Catholics w r ere forced to support the English 
churchmen by paying tithes from their scanty incomes. When 
Catholics were admitted to Parliament in 1829 they set to work 
to get rid of the old system, and in 1869, after a long struggle 
of a generation, the English Church was disestablished iri 
Ireland and the tithes abolished. 

After gaining this important point the Irish members in Par- 
liament, under the leadership of Parnell, forced the Irish land 
question on the attention of Parliament. From 188 1 to 1903 a 
series of acts was passed securing the Irish peasants a fair rent 
and advancing them money to buy their holdings, if they wished, 
on condition that they would pay back the money in install- 
ments to the government. It would seem as if the land question 
was now being adjusted to the satisfaction of the Irish farmers. 

In addition to their demand for fair treatment in the matter 
of religion and land, the Irish leaders have unceasingly clamored 
for Home Rule. This question has divided the English Parlia- 
ment for years. Until 1801 Ireland had maintained a separate 
parliament of her own ; but in that year the English govern- 
ment determined to suppress it because it enjoyed a larger 
degree of independence than was deemed compatible with the 
security of English rule. The Act of Union of 180 1, abolishing 



Great Britain and her Empire 



659 



the Irish parliament, provided that Ireland should be repre- 
sented by one hundred members in the House of Commons 
and, in the House of Lords, by twenty-eight peers chosen by 
the Irish nobles. This Act of Union was really forced upon 
the Irish by gross bribery of members of their parliament, and 
consequently the Irish patriots resented it. Accordingly, they at 
once began agitating for Home Rule, that is, for a parliament 





MM 



fly - 1 







Fig. 176. Irish Cottages 

The pictures show the contrast between the quaint, but filthy and un- 
sanitary, old thatched cottages of Ireland and the clean and comfortable, 
if unpicturesque, new ones. The American traveler often regrets the 
disappearance of these old houses from the landscape of the Old 
World, but wherever the peasantry of Europe is prosperous, as in 
Ireland now, it is replacing picturesqueness by comfort. Hence much 
of the Old World looks as new as America 



of their own in which they might legislate on their own affairs in- 
stead of being forced to rely upon the British Parliament, where 
the English and the Scotch have an overwhelming majority. 

In 1882 a decided impetus to the movement was given by Gladstone 
the shocking murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas ca J se f Tr i s h 
Burke, the undersecretary for Ireland, in Phoenix Park, Dublin. 
This deed aroused the horror of the civilized world and con- 
vinced the Liberal statesman Gladstone that nothing short of 
Home Rule could solve the perennial Irish problem. He under- 
took, in 1886, to secure the repeal of the Act of Union. Many 



Home Rule, 
1886 



66o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Home 
Rule Bill 
of 1914 



The protest 
of Ulster 



of the Liberals, who did not believe in the policy of Home Rule, 
broke away from his leadership and formed the party of the 
Liberal Unionists, thus defeating the bill by about thirty votes. 
Seven years later Gladstone brought forward a new Home 
Rule bill providing that the Irish should have a parliament 
of their own at Dublin and also retain representation in that 
of the United Kingdom. . This bill, though passed by the 
Commons, was rejected by the House of Lords. 

For some years thereafter the issue almost dropped out of 
English politics, but the majority of the Irish members of Par- 
liament continued to agitate the question, and in 19 14 the 
Liberal government passed a Home Rule bill which almost 
threatened to plunge Ireland into civil war. The inhabitants of 
Ulster, in northern Ireland, are mainly Protestant and they 
have been the bitterest opponents of Home Rule, fearing the 
rule of a Catholic majority. When the bill was on the point of 
becoming law they prepared to rebel, and openly armed and 
drilled a small army of volunteers. Protestant army officers 
declared that they would refuse to put down the " Ulsterites," 
and the government, to avoid bloodshed, modified the bill so as 
to allow the various divisions of Ulster to decide for themselves 
whether they would send their members of parliament to 
London or to Dublin. 1 This did not suit extreme Home Rulers 
or extreme Unionists, but the Liberals sought to calm them 
by proposing a federal system for other parts of the United 



1 At the end of six years all should send members to Dublin, and so Home 
Rule would be gradually established. 

* W. E. Gladstone was one of the greatest orators and statesmen of 
England. He began as a Tory, but grew more and more liberal and 
forced along much reform legislation. The picture shows him, at the 
age of eighty- two, introducing the Home Rule Bill of 1893. The House 
of Commons is crowded with the most distinguished men of the day. 
Note how it is divided into opposing rows of benches, the party in 
power holding those on the right, the opposition party those on the 
left of the Speaker, who sits in the thronelike chair, clad in quaint 
robes and wearing a wig, as do the clerks in front of him. On this 
occasion the aisle in the foreground is as crowded as the benches. 




Gladstone addressing the House of Commons on the 
Home Rule Bill* 





The Imperial Durbar, India* 



Great Britain and her Empire 66 1 

Kingdom as well, with parliaments for Wales and Scotland, 
much like the system in use in Canada. The European war, 
however, put an end to these plans, and Home Rule, along 
with other such schemes, has been postponed. 

Meanwhile, much of the discontent in Ireland has died out, New pros- 
owing to the new prosperity which has come to the island since inland 1 
the British government, some half dozen years ago, voted 
money to aid the Irish peasant to buy his land instead of 
holding it as a tenant. Much progress has been made in estab- 
lishing cooperative dairies and farmers' banks. Ireland is now 
probably more prosperous than she has ever been before. 

The British Empire : India 

137. No other country has ever succeeded as England has in The British 

building up a vast empire scattered all over the globe. This is empire 
perhaps the most remarkable achievement of her government. 

Turning first to India, the British rule, in the opening years British * 

of the nineteenth century, extended over the Bengal region and indlaattiie 

far up the Ganges valley beyond Delhi. A narrow strip along °P em . n g of 

the eastern coast, the southern point of the peninsula, and the teenth 

century 

island of Ceylon had also been brought under England's con- 
trol, and in the west she held Bombay and a considerable area 
north of Surat. 1 In addition to these regions which the Eng- 
lish administered directly, there were a number of princes over 
whom they exercised the right of " protection." The French 
and Portuguese possessions had declined into mere trading 
posts, and in the heart of India only one power disputed the 
advance of the English toward the complete conquest of the 
peninsula. 

1 See map above, p. 430. 

* In a great ceremonial gathering, or dttrbar, the princes of India 
meet to offer allegiance to the British ruler upon his accession. The 
last imperial durbar was a scene of great magnificence, as this proces- 
sion of bejeweled princes and elephants shows. .The actual ceremony 
was upon too vast a scale to be reproduced in a single picture. 



662 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Mahratta 
Confederacy 



This was a union of native princes, known as the Mahratta 
Confederacy. It occupied the region to the east of the Bombay 
coast, and the constant fighting that went on between its mem- 
bers continually disturbed the neighboring English possessions. 
At length England determined to suppress the Mahrattas, and 




Fig. 177. Scene on the Ganges 

Benares, the religious center of Hinduism, rises from the curving shore 
of the sacred Ganges River, its many domes and minarets giving it an 
appearance of great splendor. Along the river are many richly orna- 
mented landing places built by pious devotees. The narrow streets 
behind are crowded with Brahmans and religious pilgrims 



Conquest of 
the Gurkhas 
and Nepal 



succeeded in conquering their territory in a serious war which 
took place in 1816-1818. A considerable part of their land 
was annexed, but some of the princes were permitted to 
continue their rule under English sovereignty — a position that 
they still occupy. 

At about the same time England conquered the Gurkhas, 
who lived to the north along the great mountain range of 
the Himalayas. The Gurkhas were a nuisance, for they were 



Great Britain and her Empire 663 

wont to sweep down from the hills and destroy the villages of 
the defenseless peasants in the plain of the Ganges. They suc- 
ceeded in founding a kingdom called Nepal, but this brought 
them into contact with the English, who defeated them and 
forced them to cede to England a vast region extending up into 
the Himalayas to the borders of Tibet. To-day the Gurkhas 
are fighting England's battles in the war of 19 14. 

While the British were busy with the Mahrattas and Gurkhas, Annexation 
the Burmese were pressing into the Bengal districts from the i^™^ 
east, and as they had never met the disciplined Europeans in 
armed conflict, they were confident that they would be able to 
expand westward indefinitely. Their ambitions were, however, 
checked by the British (182 4-1 82 6), and they were compelled 
to cede to the victors a considerable strip of territory along the 
east coast of the Bay of Bengal. Having thus made their first 
definite advance beyond the confines of India proper, the 
British, after twenty-five years of peace with the Burmese, 
engaged in a second war against them in 1852 and made 
themselves masters of the Irrawaddi valley and a long narrow 
strip of coast below Rangoon, and, finally, the conquest of 
the whole country was completed in another Burmese war in 
1884-1885. 

Burma lies at the northeast of India. On the northwestern Conquest of 
frontier, in the valley of the Indus, where the soldiers of Alex- \^ Punjab 
ander the Great had faltered on their eastward march, there re g 10ns 
was a fertile region known as the Sindh, ruled over by an 
Ameer, who seems to have shown an irritating independence in 
his dealings with the British. On the ground that the Ameer's 
government was inefficient and corrupt, the British invaded his 
territory in 1843, an< ^ after some brilliant campaigning they 
wrested his domain from him and added it to their Indian 
empire, thus winning a strong western frontier. This enter- 
prise was scarcely concluded when a war broke out with 
the Sikhs in the northwest, which resulted in the addition of 
the great Punjab region farther up the valley of the Indus, 



664 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The sepoy 

rebellion, 

1857 



Queen 
Victoria 
assumes the 
East India 
Company's 
political 
power, 1858 



Queen 

Victoria 
proclaimed 
Empress of 
India, 1877 



northeast of Sindh, and the extension of the boundary of the 
Anglo-Indian empire to the borders of Afghanistan. 1 

England's conquests naturally caused great bitterness among 
the native princes, who lost their thrones, and among the Moham- 
medans, who hated the Christians. In 1857 a terrible revolt 
of the Indian troops, known as sepoys, serving under British 
officers took place. The sepoys mutinied at Delhi and mas- 
sacred the English inhabitants of the city ; the inhabitants of 
Lucknow rose against the foreigners, and at Cawnpore a thou- 
sand British men, women, and children were cruelly massacred. 
Many of the sepoys remained loyal, however, and the English 
armies were able to put down the mutiny and to punish the 
rebels as cruelly as the mutineers had treated the people of 
Cawnpore. 

After the suppression of the sepoy rebellion the Parliament 
of Great Britain revolutionized the government of India. The 
administration of the peninsula was finally taken entirely out 
of the hands of the East India Company, which had directed 
it for more than two hundred and fifty years, and vested in the 
British sovereign, to be exercised under parliamentary control. 
On January 1, 1877, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress 
of India amid an illustrious gathering of Indian princes and 
British officials. King George V, Emperor of India, now rules 
over about three hundred millions of Indian subjects inhabiting 
a domain embracing 1,773,000 square miles. 

The construction of railway lines has been pushed forward 
with great rapidity, so that the vast interior might be quickly 

1 The province of Baluchistan on the northwest has been brought under 
British dominion by gradual annexations beginning in 1876 and extending down 
to 1903. Several of the districts were formally organized as British Baluchistan in 
1887. In attempting to extend their authority over the neighboring Afghanistan, 
the British have waged two wars with the ruler of that country, one in 1S37- 
1843 and the other in 1878-1880. The problem how to maintain control over 
Afghanistan and use it as a protecting state against Russia's southeasterly ad- 
vance has been one of the fundamental issues of Anglo-Indian politics. Recently, 
however, Russia and England have come to terms on the question of boundaries ; 
and they have proceeded to divide up Persia, Russia taking the north and Britain 
the south, leaving only a strip of autonomous territory between, 



Great Britain and her Empire 665 

reached by troops and an outlet opened for its crops of cotton, Progress in 
rice, wheat, indigo, and tobacco. Cotton mills are rising by the t £ e mutiny 
tombs of ancient kings, cities are increasing rapidly in popula- 
tion, and the foreign trade by sea has multiplied twentyfold 
in the past seventy years. About eight hundred newspapers, Railroads 
printed in twenty-two languages, including Burmese, Sanskrit, papers™* 
and Persian, are published ; educational institutions have been 
provided for nearly five million students. In short, an industrial 
and educational revolution is taking place in India, and the 
Indians are beginning to be discontented with a government 
in which they have little share. 

The British Empire : Canada and Australasia 

138. In the western hemisphere Canada is the greatest of Population 
England's possessions. When it came into the hands of the 
English during the Seven Years' War, it was inhabited by some 
sixty-five thousand French colonists. Parliament wisely per- 
mitted the people to continue to enjoy their Roman Catholic 
faith and their old laws. During the American Revolution 
many people from the United States fled to Canada, and, with 
the addition of immigrants from England, an English-speaking 
population has gradually been built up, — mostly outside of 
what is now the province of Quebec, — so that Canada now 
has nearly eight million inhabitants. 

In Upper Canada (now Ontario) these refugees, known as The rebel- 
United Empire Loyalists, were in control of the government. ^J^and 
They were mostly Tories, and the ruling group was known as Durh a m ' s 
the " Family Compact " because it was largely composed of rela- 
tives or intimate friends. The Liberals became exasperated at 
the lack of responsible government, and a section of them took 
up arms in rebellion in 1837. In Lower Canada (now Quebec) 
rebellion broke out as well, due to irritation of the French at 
British rule. Both rebellions were easily crushed, but the British 
sent over an investigator, Lord Durham, whose report (1840), 



666 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Self- 
governing 
colonies 



The Do- 
minion of 
Canada 



advocating self-government for the colonies, marks a turning 
point in the attitude of England toward the treatment of her 
possessions beyond the seas. From that time on, it has been 
a matter of principle in British politics to give self-government 
to the colonies so far as can be done. This is one of the 
most important revolutions in the history of government. The 
British self-governing colonies even make their own treaties 
with other countries, and are practically free nations. 







v^^i^ 



Fig. 178. The Parliament Buildings, Ottawa 

Parliament Hill is beautifully situated beside the Ottawa River, 
main building was burned, February, 19 16 



The 



In 1867 a federation of Canadian states was formed which 
included at first only Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and 
Nova Scotia. The great regions to the west and north were 
later developed by transcontinental railways and divided into 
provinces and territories and added to the union. So the Do- 
minion of Canada is a federation somewhat like the United 
States. It is greater in area than the republic to the south of 
it, and though much of it lies very far north there are vast 
plains growing millions of bushels of wheat in the northwest, 
and much mineral in its rocky and mountainous portions. 




100 Longitude 80 West 60 from -10 Greenwich 20 



Great Britain and her Empire 667 

England leaves Canada very free to go its own way. It is Canada's in- 
true that the English ruler is represented in Canada by a oHhe mother 
governor-general who nominally appoints the members of the countr y 
Senate. But the choice of these really rests mainly with the 
premier and the party in power, and they hold office for life. 
The House of Commons is the important body. It is freely 
elected by the people of the various Canadian provinces and 
governs Canada in the same way in which the British Com- 
mons governs Great Britain. When the war of 1 9 1 4 broke out 
Canada sided enthusiastically with the mother country and sent 
troops to fight with the allies against Germany. 

In the southern Pacific Ocean England has control of the Australia 
continent of Australia and of the islands of Tasmania and New 
Zealand. These exceed in extent the whole United States ; 
New Zealand alone is larger than the Island of Great Britain. 
A great part of the continent of Australia lies in the southern 
temperate zone, but the northern region, near the equator, is 
parched by heat in summer and the whole central portion suf- 
fers from a scarcity of water, which makes vast areas of the 
interior permanently uninhabitable unless some means of irriga- 
tion on a large scale can be introduced. The eastern and 
southern coasts have always been the chief centers of coloniza- 
tion. Melbourne, in the extreme south, lies in a latitude corre- 
sponding to that of Washington, St. Louis, and San Francisco 
in the northern hemisphere. The country affords gold, silver, 
coal, tin, copper, and iron. Tasmania and New Zealand are 
more fortunate than Australia in the diversity of their scenery 
and the general fertility of their soil, while their climate is 
said to possess all the advantages of the mother country with- 
out her fog and smoke. 

Australia and Tasmania were occupied in the eighteenth cen- Colonizing 
tury by a scattered population of savages in a specially low stage ° ustra ia 
of civilization ; no European power had made any serious attempt 
to gain any foothold there until England in 1787 decided that 
Botany Bay — near the modern town of Sydney — would be 



668 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The Com- 
monwealth 
of Australia 



The settle- 
ment of New 
Zealand 



an excellent and remote spot to send criminals of whom she 
wished to get rid. For many years convicts continued to be 
dispatched to Australia and Tasmania, but by the middle of the 
nineteenth century so many respectable English colonists settled 
in New South Wales, West Australia, Queensland, and South 
Australia that they induced the English government to give 
up the practice of transporting criminals to these lands. The 
discovery of gold in 185 1 led to a great rush of immigrants; 
but farming and sheep raising are the chief industries now. 

The Australian colonies finally decided that they would pre- 
fer to be joined in a union similar to that of Canada. Accord- 
ingly, in 1900 the British Parliament passed an act constituting 
the Commonwealth of Australia, to be composed of six states — 
New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South 
Australia, and West Australia. The king is represented by a 
governor-general ; the federal parliament is composed of two 
houses, a Senate, consisting of six senators from each state, 
and a House of Representatives chosen in the same way as in 
the United States. This body has extensive power over com- 
merce, railways, currency, banking, postal and telegraph service, 
marriage and divorce, and industrial arbitration. The system of 
secret voting, called the " Australian ballot," has spread from 
Australia to England and the United States. Its purpose is 
to discourage corruption by making it impossible for a political 
manager who has bribed men to vote for his side to be sure 
that they really fulfill their promises. 

To the southeast of Australia, twelve hundred miles away, 
lie the islands of New Zealand, to which English pioneers began 
to go in the early part of the nineteenth century. In 1840 the 
English concluded a treaty with the native Maoris, by which 
the latter were assigned a definite reservation of lands on con- 
dition that they would recognize Queen Victoria as their sover- 
eign. The English settlers established the city of Auckland on 
North Island, and twenty-five years later New Zealand became 
a separate colony, with the seat of government at Wellington, 



Great Britain and her Empire 669 

New Zealand has recently become famous for its experiments Social reform 
in social reform. During the last decade of the nineteenth Zealand 
century the workingmen became very influential, and they have 
been able to carry through a number of measures which they 
believe to be to their advantage. Special courts are established 
to settle disputes between employers and their workmen ; a 
pension law helps the poor in their old age. The right to vote 
is enjoyed by women as well as by men. 1 



The British Empire : South Africa 

139. England's possessions in South Africa have caused her England and 
much more trouble than those in North America and Austral- 
asia. During the Napoleonic wars she seized the Dutch colony 
of the Cape of Good Hope. It was inhabited mainly by Dutch 
farmers, and the name " Boers " generally given to them is noth- 
ing but the Dutch word for " peasant " (compare German word 
Bauer). The English introduced their own language and car- 
ried through certain reforms, including the abolition of slavery 
in 1833. This the Boers did not like, and ten thousand of them 
moved northward across the Orange River into an unpromising 
region, known now as the Orange Free State. But the English 
would not leave the Boers alone, so numbers of them moved 
still further north across the Vaal River into Transvaal. 

England for a time recognized the independence of both the 
Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The region seemed so 
desolate and unfruitful that Parliament thought it hardly worth 
while to attempt to keep control of it. 

But in 1885 gold was discovered in the southern part of The Boers 
Transvaal, and many foreigners ( Uitlanders, — chiefly English) uitlanders 
began to rush into the Dutch colony. They naturally got conSolofAe 
along very badly with the Boers, who had no desire to let the Transvaal 
newcomers run their country. The Uitlanders arranged a 

1 In Australia women are also permitted to vote for members of the federal 
parliament and in the local elections of all the states. 



670 Medieval and Modern Times 

conspiracy in 1895 to get the Transvaal constitution changed so 
that they would have a voice in the government. Cecil Rhodes, 
a man of vast wealth and the prime minister of Cape Colony, 
appears to have encouraged a Dr. Jameson to organize a raid 
into Transvaal with a view of compelling the Boers to let the 
Uitlanders share in the government. Jameson's raid failed and 
the Boers captured the insurgents. Under Paul Kruger, the 
president of the Transvaal Republic, the Boers began to make 
military preparation to defend themselves and entered into an 
alliance with their neighbors of the Orange Free State to the 
south of them. 

The Boer The English now began to claim that the Boers would not 

be satisfied until they had got control of all the British posses- 
sions in South Africa. The Boers with more reason, as it 
seemed to the rest of the world, declared that England was only 
trying to find an excuse for annexing the two republics which the 
Dutch farmers had built up in the wilderness after a long fight 
with the native savages. Finally, in 1899 the weak Transvaal 
and the Orange Free State boldly declared war on England. 
The Boers made a brave fight and the English managed the war 
badly. Many Englishmen thought it a shame to be fighting Paul 
Kruger and his fellow farmers, and Germany especially, among 
foreign nations, was in full sympathy with the Boers. But no for- 
eign power intervened, and finally England, after some humiliat- 
ing defeats, was victorious and annexed the two Boer republics. 

Formation of With a wise liberality toward the conquered Boers, Britain 
proceeded to give them self-government like other parts of the 
empire. In 19 10 an act of Parliament formed a South African 
Union on the model of Canada and Australia. This includes 
the flourishing Cape Colony, with its great diamond mines 
about Kimberley, Natal to the northeast, and the two Boer re- 
publics — the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. These are 
now managed as a single federation by a representative of the 
British ruler and a parliament which makes laws for the whole 
union. When war broke out between England and Germany 



African 
Union 



Great Britain and her Empire 671 

in 19 14 the Germans expected the Boers to rise against Eng- 
land, but they were disappointed. The prime minister of the 
South African Union, General Botha, who had been the best 
Boer general in the war against England fifteen years before, not 
only easily suppressed a rising of some of his old comrades, but 
conquered German West Africa for the British empire. The 




Fig. 179. General Louis Botha 

British look with much pride upon this tribute to their wisdom 
in granting freedom and self-government to the Boers. 1 

In addition to these colonies Great Britain has three enor- Other British 
mous provinces in Africa occupied almost entirely by negroes, j^ Africa " S 
North of the Cape lies the Bechuanaland protectorate, inhabited 
by peaceful native tribes. Next beyond Bechuanaland and the 

1 There are about six millions of people in the South African Union, but a 
large portion of these are colored. The white population, including both those 
of English and those of Dutch descent, do not equal in number the inhabitants 
of Philadelphia. 



672 Medieval and Modern Times 

Transvaal is Rhodesia, which was acquired through the British 
South Africa Company by two annexations in 1888 and 1898 
and, with subsequent additions, brought under the protection of 
the British government. On the east coast, extending inland to 
the great lakes at the source of the Nile, lies the valuable 
ranching land of British East Africa. It is of especial value 
as controlling the southern approach to the Sudan and Egypt, 
which are so important to Britain. 1 

TABLE OF BRITISH POSSESSIONS 
In Europe : The United Kingdom, Gibraltar, and Malta. 

In Asia : Aden, Perim, Sokotra, Kuria Muria Islands, Bahrein 
Islands, British Borneo, Ceylon, Cyprus, Hongkong, India and depend- 
encies, Labuan, the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, 
Weihaiwei. 

In Africa : Ascension Island, Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protecto- 
rate, British East Africa, Cape of Good Hope, Nyasaland Protectorate, 
Zanzibar, Mauritius, Natal, Orange River Colony, Rhodesia, St. Helena, 
Tristan da Cunha, Seychelles, Somaliland, Transvaal Colony, Swaziland, 
West African Colonies of Nigeria, Northern Nigeria, Southern Nigeria, 
the Gold Coast, Gambia, Sierra Leone. 

In North and South America : Bermudas, Canada, Falkland 
Islands, British Guiana, British Honduras, Newfoundland and Labrador, 
the West Indies, including Bahama, Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward 
Islands, Trinidad, and Windward Islands. 

In Australasia and the Pacific Islands : The Commonwealth 
of Australia (including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South 
Australia, West Australia, and Tasmania), New Zealand, New Guinea 
(British), Fiji Islands, Tonga or Friendly Islands, and other minor 
islands in the Pacific. 

Total area, 11,447,954 square miles. Population, 419,401,371. 

1 In addition to these colonies in southern and central Africa, British Somali- 
land was secured on the Straits of Bab el Mandeb in 18S4 in connection with the 
establishment of the English power in Egypt. Along the west coast Great 
Britain has five centers, Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, Lagos, and 
Nigeria — the beginnings of which date back to the days of Drake and Haw- 
kins, when the British were ravaging the coast for slaves to carry to the New 
World. The English now, however, are trying to make atonement for the past 
by helping the natives to become civilized. 



Great Britain and her Empire 673 

QUESTIONS 

Section 132. Why do the English regard the Bill of Rights as 
embodying a " glorious revolution " ? Contrast the powers of the 
kings of England with those of the Continental countries in the 
eighteenth century. 

Section 133. Describe the ways in which Parliament did not 
represent the nation prior to 1832. From the conditions just 
described, do you think that political life has become better or worse 
since Parliament became more representative? Outline the provi- 
sions of the Reform Bill of 1832. What did the Chartists want? 
How did the question of woman suffrage arise? 

Section 134. What is cabinet government? How has it been 
connected with party government? How is the English government 
responsible to the people ? 

Section 135. Why is freedom of speech an important part of self- 
government ? Trace the growth of religious liberty in England from 
the seventeenth century. Can you imagine any arguments for and 
against a stern criminal law ? for keeping prisons horrible ? What 
was the effect of factory work upon children ? Why did economists 
oppose shorter hours of labor? When did England accept free 
trade? Describe the work of the Liberal government from 1906. 

Section 136. What were the roots of Ireland's misery? What 
were the conditions of the union of 1801 ? What effect did Glad- 
stone's support of Home Rule have on English politics? Outline 
the political situation in Ireland in 191 4. What were the terms of 
the Home Rule Bill ? Describe conditions in Ireland to-day. 

Section 137. How did England conquer India (answer with the 
map)? What different races are there in India? What was the 
cause of the mutiny? How did Victoria become Empress of India? 
What have the British done for India? 

Section 138. Outline the history of Canada in the nineteenth 
century. Why was the Durham report an important event in world 
history? How is Canada governed? How was Australia settled? 
When were the colonies united? What political experiments is 
New Zealand famous for? 

Section 139. Sketch the early history of South Africa. How did 
the Transvaal originate? What right had the British to interfere 
in it? What was the settlement of the struggle in South Africa? 
Does this teach any lesson as to the value of free government ? 



CHAPTER XXXII 



Relations 

between 

Russia and 

western 

Europe 

becoming 

more intimate 



Participation 
of Alex- 
ander I in 
European 
affairs 



THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, 

The Reigns of Alexander I (i 801-1825) and 
Nicholas I (1825-1855) 

140. During the past century Russia has been coming into 
ever closer relations with western Europe. Although still a back- 
ward country in many respects, she has been busily engaged for 
fifty years in modernizing herself. The works of some of her 
writers are widely read in foreign lands, especially those of Leo 
Tolstoy. The music of Rubinstein and Tschaikowsky is as highly 
esteemed in London or New York as in Petrograd or Moscow. 
Even in the field of science such names as that of Mendelyeev, 
the chemist, and of Metchnikoff , the biologist, are well known 
to their fellow workers in Europe and America. And among 
the vast millions of Russians many more are sure to contribute 
to our civilization in the future. It becomes, therefore, a matter 
of vital interest to follow the changes which are turning the 
tide of modern civilization into eastern Europe. 

When, in 181 5, Tsar Alexander I returned to his capital 
after the close of the Congress of Vienna, he could view his 
position and recent achievements with pride. Alexander had 
participated in Napoleon's overthrow, and was the undisputed 
and autocratic ruler of more than half of the continent of 



* The cities of Russia are full of churches. They generally are built 
after Byzantine and oriental models, with many domes and much colon 
The church of St. Basil, in the picture, is an extreme example. It was 
built by Ivan the Terrible in 1 554-1 557, and an old but untrue legend 
related that the architect's eyes were put out that he might not build 
another like it. 

674 







'IU 



I i 










Church of St. Basil, Moscow 



Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century 675 

Europe, not to speak of vast reaches of northern Asia which 
lay beneath his scepter. 

Under his dominion there were many races and peoples, dif- Heterogene- 
fering in customs, language, and religion — Finns, Germans, G f the Rus- 
Poles, Jews, Tartars, Armenians, Georgians, and Mongols. 1 sian Em P ire 
The Russians themselves had colonized the southern plains of 
European Russia and had spread even into Siberia. They 
made up a large proportion of the population of the empire, 
and their language was everywhere taught in the schools and 
used by the officials. The people of the grand duchy of Finland, 
speaking Swedish and Finnish, did not like their incorporation 
with Russia ; and the Poles, recalling the time when their king- 
dom far outshone the petty duchy of Moscow among the Euro- 
pean powers, still hoped that the kingdom of Poland might form 
an independent nation with its own language and constitution. 

In the time of Alexander I the Russians had -not begun to 
flock to the cities, which were small and ill-constructed com- 
pared with those of western Europe. The great mass of the 
population still lived in the country, and more than half of them 
were serfs, as ignorant and wretched as those of France or 
England in the twelfth century. 

Alexander I had inherited, as " Autocrat of all the Russias," Absolute 
a despotic power over his subjects as absolute as that to which thenar 
Louis XIV laid claim. He could make war and conclude peace 
at will, freely appoint or dismiss his ministers, order the arrest, 
imprisonment, exile, or execution of any one he chose, without 
consulting or giving an account to any living being. Even the 
Russian national church was under his personal control. There 
was no thought of any responsibility to the people, and the 
tyranny which the Tsar's officials have been able to exercise 
will become apparent as we proceed. 

1 The Cossacks, or light cavalry, who constitute so conspicuous a feature of 
the Russian army, were originally lawless rovers on the southern and eastern 
frontiers, composed mainly of adventurous Russians with some admixture of other 
peoples. Certain districts are assigned to them by the government, on the lower 
Don, near the Black Sea, the Urals, and elsewhere, in return for military service. 



6?6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



How Tsar 
Alexander 
became the 
enemy of 
revolution 
and of 
liberal ideas 



The "Decem- 
brist" revolt 
of 1825 



Polish 

rebellion, 

1S30-1S31 



Nicholas 
crushes the 
revolt and 
deprives 
Poland of its 
constitution 



During his early years Alexander entertained liberal ideas, 1 
but after his return from the Congress of Vienna he became 
as apprehensive of revolution as his friend Metternich, and 
threw himself into the arms of the " Old-Russian " party, 
which obstinately opposed the introduction of all Western ideas. 
The attraction of the new ideas was, however, so strong that the 
Tsar could not prevent some of his more enlightened subjects 
from reading the new books from western Europe dealing with 
scientific discoveries and questions of political and social reform. 

Alexander I died suddenly on December 1, 1825. The revo- 
lutionary societies seized this opportunity to organize a revolt 
known as the " December conspiracy." But the movement was 
badly organized ; a few charges of grapeshot brought the 
insurgents to terms, and some of the leaders were hanged. 

Nicholas I never forgot the rebellion which inaugurated his 
reign, and he proved one of the most despotic of all the long 
list of autocratic rulers. His arbitrary measures speedily pro- 
duced a revolt in Poland. Secret societies began to promote a 
movement for the reestablishment of the ancient Polish republic 
which Catherine II and her fellow monarchs had destroyed. 
Late in 1830 an uprising occurred in Warsaw; the insurgents 
secured control of the city and drove out the Russian officials, 
and proclaimed the independence of Poland, January 25, 183 1. 

Europe made no response to Poland's appeals for assistance. 
The Tsar's armies were soon able to crush the rebellion, and 
when Poland lay prostrate at his feet Nicholas gave no quarter. 
He revoked the constitution, abolished the diet, suppressed the 
national flag, and transferred forty-five thousand Polish families 
to the valley of the Don and the mountains of the Caucasus. 
To all intents and purposes Poland became henceforth merely 
a Russian province, governed, like the rest of the empire, from 
St. Petersburg. 2 . 

1 See above, p. 567. 

2 Thirty years later, in 1863, the Poles made another desperate attempt to free 
themselves from the yoke of Russia, but failed. Napoleon III refused to assist 
them, and Bismarck supported the Tsar in the fearful repression which followed, 



liberalism 



Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century 677 

Nicholas I sincerely believed that Russia could only be saved Nicholas i's 
from the " decay" of religion and government, which he believed autocracy 
to be taking place in western Europe, by maintaining autocracy, g^ 6 ^^ 
for this alone was strong enough to make head against the de- 
structive ideas which some of his subjects in their blindness mis- 
took for enlightenment. The Russian-Greek Church * and all its 
beliefs must be defended, and the Russian nation preserved as 
a separate and superior people who should maintain forever the 
noble beliefs and institutions of the past. 2 Certainly a great 
many of his advisers were well content with the system, and 
his army of officials were as loath to recommend reform as 
"any band of corrupt politicians in the world. 

Accordingly, in the name of Russian nationality, the Tsar stem efforts 
adopted strong measures to check the growth of liberalism. ° c he C k ^ 
The officials bestirred themselves to prevent in every way the 
admission into Russia of Western ideas. Books on religion and 
science were carefully examined by the police or the clergy ; 
foreign works containing references to politics were either con- 
fiscated or the objectionable pages were blotted out by the cen- 
sors. The government officials did not hesitate freely to open 
private letters committed to the post, even when there was no 
reason to suspect their writers. It may be said that, except for 
a few short intervals of freedom, this whole system has been 
continued down to the present time. 

1 The Russians had been converted to Christianity by missionaries from Con- 
stantinople, the religious capital of the Eastern, or Greek, Church, which had 
gradually drifted away from the Latin, or Roman Catholic, Church in the seventh 
and eighth centuries. For many centuries the Russian Church remained in close 
relations with the patriarch of Constantinople, but after that city fell to the 
infidel Turks the Tsars asserted that they were the successors of the Eastern 
emperors. Old Rome, on the Tiber, and new Rome, on the Bosporus, had both 
fallen on account of their sins. Russia thus became the " third Rome," and the 
Tsar the head of all true Christians who accepted the only orthodox faith, that 
of the Greek Church. Under Peter the Great the Russian Church was brought 
completely under the control of the government. 

2 Nicholas introduced into the schools a catechism which recalls that of 
Napoleon I : " Question. What does religion teach us as to our duties to the 
Tsar? Answer. Worship, fidelity, the payment of taxes, service, love, and 
prayer" — the whole being comprised in the words "worship and fidelity." 



678 



Medieval arid Modern Times 



The Freeing of the Serfs and the Growth 
of the Spirit of Revolution 



Accession of 
Alexander II, 
1855 



Situation of 
the Russian 
serfs 



Peasant 
revolts 



Emancipa- 
tion of the 
serfs, March, 
1861 



141. In 1854 the efforts of Russia to increase her influence 
in Turkey led to a war with France and England. The Rus- 
sians were defeated, and their strong fortress of Sebastopol, in 
the Crimea, captured by the allies. 1 Nicholas I died in the 
midst of the reverses of this Crimean War, leaving to his son, 
Alexander II, the responsibility of coming to terms with the 
enemy, and then, if possible, strengthening Russia by reducing 
the political corruption and bribery which had been revealed 
by the war and by improving the lot of the people at large. 

Nearly one half of the Tsar's subjects were serfs whose 
bondage and wretched lives seemed to present an insurmount- 
able barrier to general progress and prosperity. The landlord 
commonly reserved a portion of his estate for himself and 
turned over to his serfs barely enough to enable them to keep 
body and soul together. They usually spent three days in the 
week cultivating their lord's fields. He was their judge as well 
as their master and could flog them at will. The serf was 
viewed as scarcely more than a beast of burden. 

From time to time the serfs, infuriated by the hard condi- 
tions imposed upon them, revolted against their lords. Under 
Nicholas I over five hundred riots had occurred, and these 
seemed to increase rather than decrease, notwithstanding the 
vigilance of the police. 

Alexander II, fearful lest the peasants should again attempt 
to win their liberty by force, decided that the government must 
undertake the difficult task of freeing forty millions of his sub- 
jects from serfdom. After much discussion he issued an eman- 
cipation proclamation, March 3, 186 1, 2 on the eve of the great 



1 See next chapter, § 144. 

2 According to the Russian calendar the date is February 19, for Russia has 
never followed the example of the western nations and rectified her mode of 
indicating dates by adopting the Gregorian calendar. 



CE^$ 




NOTE : Finland, the Baltic Provinces, 
Poland and Caucasus are all, except 
Finland, integral portions of the Russian 
Empire ; they have nevertheless been 
assigned a special color in the map on 
account of certain peculiarities in the re- 
lation of each to the Russian government. 



Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century 679 

Civil War which was to put an end to negro slavery in the 
United States. In his anxiety to prevent any loss to the land- 
owners, who constituted the ruling class in the Russian govern- 
ment, the Tsar did his work in a very half-hearted manner. It 
is true the government deprived the former lord of his right to 
force the peasants to work for him and to pay him the old dues ; 
he could no longer flog them or command them to marry against 






%±£-^*k''^ ■''':'"■■ ~2„„ —■ 

,;,'-v-" .'...'■... :■■>■■- ■'- 




^-"''^'-'•--C_^' ; 




Fig. 180. Russian Peasant's Home 



their will ; but the peasants still remained bound to the land, 
for they were not permitted to leave their villages without a 
government pass. The landlords surrendered a portion of their The village 
estates to the peasants, but this did not become the property o°^ z ™ unity ' 
of individual owners, but was vested in the village community 
as a whole. 

The government dealt very generously with the landlords, 
as might have been anticipated. It not only agreed that the 
peasants should be required to pay for such land as their 
former masters turned over to them, but commonly fixed the 



68o 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Eman- 
cipation a 
hardship 



Change in 
method of 
landholding 



Origin of 
terrorism 



Terrorism, 
1878-1881 



price at an amount far greater than the real value of the land 
— a price which the government paid the landlords and then 
began to collect from the serfs in installments. His new free- 
dom seemed to the peasant little better than that enjoyed by 
a convict condemned to hard labor in the penitentiary. 

Although the peasant lived constantly on the verge of starva- 
tion, he fell far behind in the payment of his taxes, so that in 
1904 the Tsar, in a moment of forced generosity, canceled the 
arrears, which the peasants could, in any case, never have paid. 
Two years later the Tsar issued an order permitting the peas- 
ants to leave their particular village and seek employment else- 
where. They might, on the other hand, become owners of their 
allotments. This led to the practical abolition of the ancient 
mir, or village community. 

The government officials regarded all reformers with the 
utmost suspicion and began to arrest the more active among 
them. The prisons were soon crowded, and hundreds were 
banished to Siberia. The Tsar and his police seemed to be 
the avowed enemies of all progress, and any one who advanced 
a new idea was punished as if he had committed a murder. It 
seemed to the more ardent reformers that there was no course 
open to them but to declare war on the government as a body 
of cfuel, corrupt tyrants who would keep Russia in darkness for- 
ever merely in order that they might continue to fill their own 
pockets by grinding down the people. They argued that the 
wicked acts of the officials must be exposed, the government 
intimidated, and the eyes of the world opened to the horrors 
of the situation by conspicuous acts of violent retribution. So 
some of the. reformers became terrorists, not because they were 
depraved men or loved bloodshed, but because they were con- 
vinced that there was no other way to save their beloved land 
from the fearful oppression under which it groaned. 

The government fought terrorism with terrorism. In 1879 
sixteen suspected revolutionists were hanged and scores sent 
to the dungeons of St. Petersburg or the mines of Siberia. 



Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century 68 1 

The terrorists, on their part, retaliated by attacks on the Tsar Assassination 
and his government; and Alexander II finally yielded, conced- der ii^iSSi 
ing a constitution for Russia. It was too late, however. On 
the afternoon that he gave his assent, he was assassinated as 
he was driving to his palace (March, 1881). 

The reign of Alexander II had not been entirely given up The Balkan 
to internal reforms and repression, however. In 1877 Russia jgS' * 77 ~ 




Fig. 181. Alexander II 

was again at war with Turkey, aiding the " south Slavs " — 
Serbians, Montenegrins, and Bulgarians in their attempt to 
throw off the Turkish yoke. Successful in arms, Russia was, 
however, obliged to relinquish most of her gains and those of 
her allies by a congress of the European powers held at Berlin 
in 1878. But this is all described in the next chapter. 1 

The reign of Alexander III (1881-1894), son and successor Alexanderin 
of Alexander II, was a period of quiet, during which little 

1 See below, p. 695. 



682 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Belief of the 
reactionaries 
that Russia 
must be kept 
" frozen " 



The Indus- 
trial Revolu- 
tion overtakes 
Russia 



Rapid growth 
of Russian 
industries, 
1S87-1S97 



Railway 
onstruction 
n Russia 



The Trans- 
Siberian 
railroad 



progress seemed to be made. The terrorists realized that noth- 
ing was to be gained by further acts of violence. The people 
suffered the oppression of the government officials without 
active opposition. Their occasional protests were answered by 
imprisonment, flogging, or exile, for Alexander III and his 
intimate advisers believed quite as firmly and religiously in 
autocracy as Nicholas I had done. Freedom and liberalism, 
they agreed, could only serve to destroy a nation. 

It became increasingly difficult, however, to keep Russia 
" frozen," for during the last quarter of the nineteenth century 
the spread of democratic ideas had been hastened by the 
coming of the steam engine, the factory, and the railroad, all of 
which served to unsettle the humdrum agricultural life which 
the great majority of the people had led for centuries. 

The liberation of the serfs, with all its drawbacks, favored 
the growth of factories, for the peasants were sometimes per- 
mitted to leave their villages for the manufacturing centers 
which were gradually growing up. If Napoleon could come 
once more to Moscow, he would not recognize the city which 
met his gaze in 18 12. It has now become the center of the 
Russian textile industries, and the sound of a thousand looms 
and forges announces the creation of a new industrial world. 

Along with this industrial development has gone the con- 
struction of great railway lines built largely by the government 
with money borrowed from capitalists in western Europe (see 
map, p. 678). The greatest of all Russian railway undertakings 
was the Trans-Siberian road, which was rendered necessary for 
the transportation of soldiers and military supplies to the eastern 
boundary of the empire. Communication was established between 
St. Petersburg and the Pacific in 1900, and a branch line south- 
ward to Port Arthur was soon finished. 1 One can now travel 
in comfort, with few changes of cars from Havre to Vladivostok, 
via Paris, Cologne, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, Irkutsk, on Lake 
Baikal, and Harbin, a distance of seventy-three hundred miles. 

1 See map below, p. 706. 



Ill 



Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century 683 

The Struggle for Liberty under Nicholas II 

142. When Nicholas II succeeded his father, Alexander III, Nicholas 11 

1894 1 he was but twenty-six years old, and there was some dSpeis^the 
reason to hope that he would favor reform. Nicholas, however, J^rl of 
quickly dispelled any illusions which his more liberal subjects 
entertained. 

The^ repressive policy of this despotic government became Harsh policy 
worse as time went on. In 1902 an unpopular minister of the pi e hve 
interior had been assassinated, and the Tsar had appointed a 
still more unpopular man in his place, namely, von Piehve, 
who was notorious for his success in hunting down those who 
criticized the government. 

Von Piehve connived at the persecution of those among the Massacres 
Tsar's subjects who ventured to disagree with the doctrines 
of the Russian official church, to which every Russian was sup- 
posed to belong. The Jews suffered especially. There were . 
massacres at Kishineff and elsewhere in 1903 which horrified 
the western world and drove hundreds of thousands of Jews to 
foreign lands, especially to the United States. There is good rea- 
son to believe that von Piehve actually arranged these massacres. 

Von Piehve was mistaken, however, in his belief that all the 
trouble came from a handful of fanatics. Among those who 

1 Genealogical table of the Tsars. 

Catherine II (the Great) 
( 1 762-1 796) 

Paul I 
(1 796-1801) 



Alexander I Nicholas I 

(1801-1825) (1825-1855) 



Alexander II 
(1855-1881) 

Alexander III 
(1881-1894) 

Nicholas II 
(1894- ) 



684 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The liberals, 
or constitu- 
tional demo- 
crats 



Great unpop- 
ularity of the 
war with 
Japan which 
began in Feb- 
ruary, 1904 



Russian 
reverses 



Assassina- 
tion of von 
Plehve, July, 
1904 



General 
disorder 



detested the cruel and corrupt government which he repre- 
sented were the professional men, the university professors, 
the enlightened merchants and manufacturers, and the public- 
spirited nobility. 

The more von Plehve sought to stamp out all protest against 
the autocracy, the more its enemies increased, and at last, in 
1904, the open revolution may be said to have begun. On 
February 5 of that year a war commenced with Japan, which 
was due to Russia's encroachments in Korea and her evident 
intention of permanently depriving China of Manchuria. The 
liberals attributed the conflict to bad management on the part 
of the Tsar's officials, and declared it to be inhuman and 
contrary to the interests of the people. 

The Japanese succeeded in pressing back the Russians, 
destroying their vessels, and besieging their fortress of Port 
Arthur, which they had cut off from any aid or supplies. 1 The 
liberal-minded among the Russians regarded these disasters with 
a certain satisfaction. The reverses, they held, were due to 
the incompetence and corruption of the Tsar's officials and 
served to make plain how very badly autocracy really worked 
in practice. 

Von Plehve continued, however, in spite of the rising indig- 
nation, to encourage the police to break up scientific and literary 
meetings, in which disapprobation of the government was pretty 
sure to be expressed, and to send men eminent in science and 
literature to prison or to Siberia, until, on July 28, 1904, a 
bomb was thrown under the minister's carriage by a former 
student in the University of Moscow and his career was brought 
to an abrupt close. 

Meanwhile disasters and revolt met the government on every 
hand. The Japanese continued to force back the Russians in 
Manchuria in a series of terrific conflicts south of Mukden. In 
one long battle on the Sha-ho River sixty thousand Russians 
perished. Their fleets in the East were annihilated, and on 
1 See p. 706, below. 



Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Centtcry 685 

January 1, 1905, Port Arthur fell, after the most terrible siege 
on record. In Russia the crops failed and the starving peasants 
burned and sacked the houses and barns of the nobles, arguing 
that if the buildings were destroyed, the owners could not come 
back and the Tsar's police could no longer make them their 
headquarters. 

On Sunday, January 22, 1905, a fearful event occurred. The 
workingmen of St. Petersburg had sent a petition to the Tsar 




^M^^r^m- 



Fig. 182. The Winter Palace, Petrograd 
The massacre took place just in front of the palace 



and had informed him that on Sunday they would march to the 
palace humbly to pray him in person to consider their suffer- 
ings, since they had no faith in his officials or ministers. When 
Sunday morning came, masses of men, women, and children, 
wholly unarmed, attempted to approach the Winter Palace in 
the pathetic hope that the " Little Father," as they called the 
Tsar, would listen to their woes. Instead, the Cossacks tried 
to disperse them with their whips, and then the troops which 
guarded the palace shot and cut down hundreds and wounded 
thousands in a conflict which continued all day. "Red Sunday" 



" Red Sun- 
day," Janu- 
ary 22, 1905 



'686 



Medieval and Modern Times 



A Duma 
promised 



General 
strike of 
October, 1905 



The Tsar 
promises 
(October 29, 
1905) that 
no law shall 
go into force 
without the 
Duma's • 
assent 



The Duma 
received by 
the Tsar, 
May 10, 1906 



The Duma 
freely dis- 
cusses the 
vices of 
the Tsar's 
government 



was, however, only the most impressive of many similar en- 
counters between citizens and the Tsar's police and guards. 

Some months after this tragedy the Tsar at last yielded to 
public opinion and on August 19, 1905, agreed to summon 
a Russian parliament, Duma, which should thereafter give 
Russia's autocratic ruler advice in making the laws. 

He and his advisers were soon pushed somewhat farther 
along the path of reform by a general strike which began 
in the following October. All the railroads stopped running ; 
in all the great towns the shops, except those that dealt in 
provisions, were closed ; gas and electricity were no longer 
furnished ; the law courts ceased their duties, and even the 
apothecaries refused to prepare prescriptions until reforms 
should be granted. 

The situation soon became intolerable, and on October 29 
the Tsar announced that he had ordered " the government " to 
grant the people freedom of conscience, speech, and association, 
and to permit the classes which had been excluded in his first 
edict to vote for members of the Duma. Lastly, he agreed " to 
establish an immutable rule that no law can come into force 
without the approval of the Duma." 

The elections for the Duma took place in March and April, 
1906. The deputies assembled in no humble frame of mind. 
They were determined to give Russia an enlightened, liberal, and 
righteous constitutional government. Like the members of the 
Estates General in 1789, they felt that they had the nation be- 
hind them. They listened stonily to the Tsar's remarks at the 
opening session, and it was clear from the first that they would 
not agree any better with their monarch than the French 
deputies had agreed with Louis XIV and his courtiers. 

The Tsar's ministers would not cooperate with the Duma in 
any important measures of reform, and on July 21 Nicholas II 
declared that he was " cruelly disappointed " because the depu- 
ties had not confined themselves to their proper duties and had 
commented upon many matters which belonged to him. He 



Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century 687 

accordingly dissolved the Duma, as he had a perfect right to 
do, and fixed March 5, 1907, as the date for the meeting of 
a new Duma. 

The revolutionists made an unsuccessful attempt in August Atrocities 
to blow up the Tsar's chief minister in his country house and continue 
continued to assassinate governors and police officials. The 
bands known as the "Black Hundreds," on the other hand, 
went on massacring Jews and liberals, while the government 
established courts-martial to insure the speedy trial and imme- 
diate execution of revolutionists. In the two months, September 
and October, 1906, these courts summarily condemned three 
hundred persons .to be shot or hanged. During the whole 
year some nine thousand persons were killed or wounded for 
political reasons. 

A terrible famine was afflicting the land at the end of the Famine 
year, and it was discovered that a member of the Tsar's minis- t h e other 
try had been stealing the money appropriated to furnish grain dlsasters 
to the dying peasants. An observer who had traveled- eight 
hundred miles through the famine-stricken district reported 
that he did not find a single village where the peasants had 
food enough for themselves or their cattle. In some places the 
peasants were reduced to eating bark and the straw used for 
their thatch roofs. 

The Tsar has continued to summon the Duma regularly, The Dumas 
but has so changed suffrage that only the conservative sections °he P Tsar': 
of the nation are represented, and his officials do all they can 
to keep out liberal deputies. In spite of this the fourth Duma, 
elected in 191 2, showed much independence in opposing the 
oppressive rule of the Tsar's ministers. Although parliamentary 
government is by no means won in Russia, many important 
reforms have been achieved. The Tsar continues to retain the 
title of " Autocrat of all the Russias," and his officials go on 
violating all the principles of liberty and persecuting those 
who venture to criticize the government. 



'S 

ministers 



6SS Medieval and Modern Times 



QUESTIONS 

Section 140. What different peoples make up the Russian em- 
pire ? Prepare a list of the Tsars of the nineteenth century with their 
dates. How did Alexander I rule? How had Poland been left by 
the Congress of Vienna ? What resulted from its rebellion in 1 83 1 ? 
State the arguments for and against autocracy in Russia. What did 
Nicholas I do to stem the growth of liberalism ? 

Section 141. What was the main event in the internal history 
of Russia under Alexander II ? Why did many serfs oppose emanci- 
pation ? State the arguments of the terrorists. What did they accom- 
plish ? Did they really help or retard self-government ? When did 
the Industrial Revolution affect Russia? How did it affect it? 

Section 142. How did the reign of Nicholas II begin? Why 
were the Jews persecuted and massacred? What was the effect of 
the Japanese war at home ? Outline the war itself. When and what 
was "Red Sunday"? What caused the general strike of 1905? 
State the extent to which the first Duma represented the nation. 
What attitude did it assume? Describe the condition of Russia 
at the close of 1906. Who was to blame for the disorders? Is 
parliamentary government well established in Russia? 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

TURKEY AND THE EASTERN QUESTION 

The Emergence of Serbia and Greece 

143. In the course of our narrative something has been said The rise and 
of the coming of the Turks into Europe, their capture of Con- t ife Turkish 
stantinople in 1453, their extension westward into Hungary em P ire 
and toward the Adriatic, their siege of Vienna in 1683, their 
defeat, and their final expulsion from Hungary 1 about the year 
1700. It is necessary now to trace the further breaking up 
of their empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ; and 
the subject has a tragic interest for us, since it precipitated the 
terrible European war in 1 9 1 4. 

Although from the eighteenth century Turkey ceased to be Catherine the 
a grave menace to the Christian states, she was able for several territory on 
decades to resist the efforts of Russia and Austria to deprive the Black Sea 
her of further territory. In 1774 Catherine the Great managed 
to secure the Crimea and the region about the Sea of Azov, 
thus giving Russia a permanent foothold on the Black Sea. 
Moreover, the " Porte," as the Turkish government is com- 
monly called, conceded to Russia the right to protect the 
Sultan's Christian subjects, most of whom were adherents of 
the Orthodox Greek Church, the State church of Russia. 2 

These and other provisions seemed to give the Russians an Russian 
excuse for intervening in Turkish affairs, and offered an oppor- jJJ Turkey 
tunity for stirring up discontent among the Sultan's Christian 
subjects. In 18 12, just before Napoleon's march on Moscow, 
Alexander I forced Turkey to cede to him Bessarabia on 

1 See above, p. 420. 2 See above, p. 677, note. 

689 



690 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Serbia be- 
comes a 
tributary 
principality 
in 1817 



The national 
spirit is 
awakened 
in Greece 



The inde- 
pendence of 
Greece de- 
clared, Janu- 
ary, 1822 



Sympathy 
of western 
Europe for 
the cause of 
Greek inde- 
pendence 



the Black Sea, which, down to the present day, is the last of 
Russia's conquests toward the southwest. 

Shortly after the Congress of Vienna the Serbians, who riad 
for a number of years been in revolt against the Turks, were 
able to establish their practical independence (18 17), and Ser- 
bia, with Belgrade as its capital, became a principality tributary 
to Turkey. This was the first of a series of Balkan states 
which have reemerged, during the nineteenth century, from 
beneath the Mohammedan inundation. 

The next state to gain its independence was Greece, whose 
long conflict against Turkish despotism aroused throughout 
Europe the sympathy of all who appreciated the glories of 
ancient Greece. The inhabitants of the land of Plato, Aristotle, 
and Demosthenes were, it is true, scarcely to be regarded as 
descendants of the Greeks, and the language they spoke bore 
little resemblance to the ancient tongue. At the opening of the 
nineteenth century, however, the national spirit once more 
awoke in Greece, and able writers made modern Greek a 
literary language and employed it in stirring appeals to the 
patriotism of their fellow countrymen. 

In 182 1 an insurrection broke out in Morea, as the ancient 
Peloponnesus is now called. The revolutionists were supported 
by the clergy of the Greek Church, who proclaimed a savage 
war of extermination against the infidel. The movement spread 
through the peninsula ; the atrocities of the Turk were rivaled 
by those of the Greeks, and thousands of Mohammedans — 
men, women, and children — were slaughtered. On January 27, 
1822, the Greek national assembly issued a proclamation of 
independence. 

To Metternich this revolt seemed only another illustration of 
the dangers of revolution, but the liberals throughout Europe 
enthusiastically sympathized with the Greek uprising, since it 
was carried on in the name of national liberty. Intellectual men 
in England, France, Germany, and the United' States held meet- 
ings to express sympathy for the cause. Soldiers and supplies 



Turkey and the Eastern Question 69 1 

poured into Greece. Indeed, the Greeks could scarcely have 
freed themselves had the European powers refused to intervene. 

It is needless to follow the long negotiations between the The powers 
various European courts in connection with Greek affairs. In t ^ e wa "for* 1 
1827 England, France, and Russia signed a treaty at London Gre J k mde - 
providing for a joint adjustment of the difficulty, on the ground 
that it was necessary to put an end to the bloody struggle 
which left Greece and the adjacent islands a prey " to all the 
disasters of anarchy, and daily causes fresh impediments to the 
commerce of Europe." The Porte having refused to accept The Turks 
the mediation of the allies, their combined fleets destroyed that Navarinc^ 
of the Sultan at Navarino in October, 1827. Thereupon the in 1§2 7 
Porte declared a " holy war " on the unbelievers, especially the 
Russians. But the latter were prepared to push the war with Wallachia 
vigor, and they not only actively promoted the freedom of (RoumaniaP 
Greece, but forced the Sultan to grant practical independence 
to the Danubian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which Establish- 
came thereby under Russian influence. Turkey was no longer kingdom of 
able to oppose the wishes of. the allies, and in 1832 Greece Greece > l8 3 2 
became an independent state, choosing for its king Prince Otto 
of Bavaria. 1 

The Crimean War (18 54-1 8 56) 

144. A fresh excuse for interfering in Turkish affairs was The interna- 
afforded the Tsar in 1853. Complaints reached him that Chris- versy over the 
tian pilgrims were not permitted by the- Turks (who had long christians in 
been in possession of the Holy Land and Jerusalem) freely to Turkey • 
visit the places made sacred by their associations with the life of 
Jesus. Russia seemed the natural protector of those, at least, 
who adhered to her own form of Christianity, and the Russian 
ambassador rudely demanded that the Porte should grant the 
Tsar a protectorate over all the Christians in Turkey. 

1 Otto was forced to grant a parliament, in 1844, based on universal suffrage. 
He was driven out by a revolution in 1863, and a Danish prince, George I, 
became king. He was assassinated in 1913 and was succeeded by his son 
Constantine I. 



France and 
England 
declare war 
on Russia 



692 



Medieval and Modern Times 



When news of this situation reached Paris, Napoleon III, who 
had recently become emperor, declared that France, in virtue 
of earlier treaties with the Porte, enjoyed the right to protect 
Catholic Christians. He found an ally in England, who was 
fearful that Russia might wrest Constantinople from the Turks 




Fig. 183. Florence Nightingale 

The most famous of nurses was a wealthy Englishwoman who, having 
studied medicine and directed a hospital of her own, took with her 
some forty nurses to the Crimea, where the soldiers were suffering 
from cholera as well as from wounds. Her heroic work won her the 
devotion of the soldiers. The Red Cross organization for nursing 
soldiers dates only from an international convention at Geneva in 1864, 
which arranged that such nurses should not be fired on in battle 



The Crimean 
War, 1854 



and so get control of the Dardanelles and the eastern Medi- 
terranean. When the Tsar's troops marched into the Turkish 
dominions, France and England came to the Sultan's assistance 
and declared war upon Russia in 1854. 

The war which followed was fought out in the southern part 
of the Crimean peninsula. Every victory won by the allies was 



Turkey and the Eastern Question 693 

dearly bought. Both the French and the English suffered great 
hardship and losses. Russia was, however, disheartened by 
the sufferings of her own soldiers, the inefficiency and corrup- 
tion of her officials, and the final loss of the mighty fortress of 
Sebastopol. She saw, moreover, that her near neighbor, Austria, 
was about to join her enemies. The new Tsar, Alexander II, 
therefore, consented in 1856 to the terms of a treaty drawn up 
at Paris. 1 

This treaty recognized the independence of the Ottoman Terms of 
Empire and guaranteed its territorial integrity. The " Sublime oLParis* V 
Porte " was taken into the family of European powers, from l8 5 6 
which it had hitherto been excluded as a barbarous government, 
and the other powers agreed not to interfere further with the 
domestic affairs of Turkey. In short, Turkey was preserved 
and strengthened by the intervention of the powers as a bul- 
wark against Russian encroachment into the Balkan peninsula, 
but nothing was really done to reform the Turkish administration 
or to make the lot of the Christian subjects more secure. 

• 
Revolts in the Balkan Peninsula 

145. Some idea of the situation of the people under the Terrible con- 
Sultan's rule may be derived from the report of an English Bosnia under 
traveler in 1875. 2 In the Turkish province of Bosnia he found Turkishrul e 
that outside the large towns, where European consuls were 
present, neither the honor, property, nor lives of the Christians 
were safe, because the authorities were blind to any outrage ~ 
committed by a Mohammedan. The Sultan's taxes fell prin- 
cipally on the peasants, in the form of a tenth of their prod- 
uce. It was a common custom for the collectors (who were 
often not Mohammedans but brutal Christians) to require the 
peasant to pay the tax in cash before the harvesting of the ripe 

1 It will be remembered that Sardinia had joined the allies against Russia, and 
in this way forced the powers to admit it to the deliberations at Paris, where 
Cavour seized the opportunity to plead the cause of Italy. See above, p. 608. 

2 Mr. Arthur Evans, the famous archaeologist. 



694 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The Bulga- 
rian atroci- 
ties(i876) 



Gladstone 
pleads with 
his country- 
men to aid 
the Balkan 
Christians 



crop, and if he could not meet the charges, the taxgatherer 
simply said, " Then your harvest shall rot on the ground till 
you pay it." When this oppression was resisted, the most cruel 
tortures were meted out to the offenders. 

In 1874 a failure of crops aggravated the intolerable condi- 
tions and an insurrection broke out in Bosnia which set the 
whole Balkan peninsula aflame. The Bulgarians assassinated 
some of the Turkish officials, and gave the Turks a pretext for 
the most terrible atrocities in the history of Turkish rule in 
Europe, murdering thousands of Bulgars in revenge. 

While the European powers, in their usual fashion, were 
exchanging futile diplomatic notes on the situation, Serbia and 
Montenegro declared war on the Sultan, and the Christians in 
the Balkan region made a frantic appeal to the West for im- 
mediate help. A good deal naturally depended on the position 
taken by England — the stanch defender of Turkey. Glad- 
stone, then leader of the Liberals, urged his countrymen to 
break the unholy alliance between England and " the unspeak- 
able Turk." But Gladstone's party was not in power, and 
Lord Beaconsfield, then at the head of the English government, 
was fearful that English encouragement to the Slavic rebels in 
the Sultan's dominions would only result in their becoming 
independent and allying themselves with England's enemy, 
Russia. Beaconsfield believed that in the interest of English 
trade he must continue to resist any movement which might 
destroy the power of the Sultan, who was less likely than 
Russia to interfere with England's Eastern commerce. 

The negotiations of the powers having come to nothing, 
Russia determined, in 1877, to act alone. Although the Turks 



* The Congress of Berlin was held under the presidency of" 
Bismarck, who stands in the center of the picture, shaking hands 
with a Russian minister. Lord Beaconsfield, leaning on a cane, is 
talking to the Russian prime minister at the left of the table. 
The Turkish envoys, to whom little attention was paid, are at the 
extreme left. 



short war, 
1877-1878 



Turkey and the Eastern Question 695 

fought well, Russia was victorious, and in 1878 a Russian Russia over- 
army entered Adrianople. The Sultan was forced to sign a sultan in a 
treaty with the Tsar and to recognize the independence of 
Serbia, Montenegro, Roumania, 1 and Bulgaria. 

England and Austria had naturally serious objections to this The Berlin 
treaty which increased the influence of Russia in the Balkan in "J-Js 
peninsula. They accordingly forced Tsar Alexander II to sub- 
mit the whole matter to the consideration of a general European 
congress at Berlin. After prolonged and stormy sessions the 
Congress of Berlin agreed that Serbia, Roumania, and little 
Montenegro should be regarded as entirely independent of 
Turkey, and that Bulgaria should also be independent, except 
for the payment of a tribute to the Sultan. Bosnia, where the 
insurrection had begun, and the small province of Herzegovina 
were practically taken from the Sultan and turned over to 
Austria to be occupied and administered by her. Russia was 
given a tract east of the Black Sea. A few years after the con- 
gress Bulgaria quietly annexed the neighboring province of 
Eastern Roumelia, thus adding to her own importance and 
further decreasing what little remained of Turkey in Europe. 

Extinction of Turkey in Europe 

146. All that was left of the Turkish empire in Europe was Turkish 

a narrow strip of territory — less in extent than the state of Europe re- n 

Missouri — extending from the Black Sea to the Adriatic, to ^ ric ^ d to 

which the name "Macedonia" was generally applied. This area donianregion 

. . , , . . ,..,..... inhabited by 

is broken everywhere by mountain ranges, and is inhabited by Greeks, Bul- 
such a complicated mixture of races that it has been aptly called bfan^Turks" 
" a perfect museum of human races." Along the coast of the 
^Egean Sea and the borders of Greece, the Greeks, numbering 

1 In 1862 the so-called " Danubian Provinces " of Moldavia and Wallachia 
(see above, p. 691) had formed a voluntary union under the name " Roumania. - ' 
In 1866 the Roumanians chose for their ruler a German prince, Charles of 
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who in 1SS1 was proclaimed king of Roumania as 
Carol I. He died in 1914 and was succeeded by his son Ferdinand. 



and Alba- 



696 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The massa- 
cres in 
Macedonia 



The Turkish 
revolution 
of 1908 



roughly three hundred thousand, predominate. In the north- 
central regions are the Serbs, a nation of sturdy peasants own- 
ing their little farms ; they resemble the thrifty Bulgars of the 
northeast in somewhat the same way as the Irish resemble the 
Scotch, and both claim as their kindred the Macedonians of 
the Balkan region. Scattered through the central districts are 
a certain number of Turks. In the west, bordering on the 
Adriatic, are the Albanians, a wild people, primitive in their 
civilization and lawless in their habits. 

Turkey was naturally anxious to hold on to this last remnant 
of her once large dominion in Europe, but she did not mind 
the subject people fighting one another when they were so in- 
clined. The European powers were well aware of the horrible 
local massacres, assassinations, and robberies that were con- 
stantly going on in Macedonia, but they dreaded the general 
war that might come if any attempt was made to take the 
region from Turkey and divide it up among the independent 
Balkan states, — Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria, — for each of 
these countries declared that Macedonia rightfully belonged to 
it. Indeed, Greece made a futile attempt in 1897 to conquer 
part of it in a brief and disastrous war with Turkey. 

In recent years a small party of reformers, known as Young 
Turks, developed, especially in the army, for as officers they 
had had to study the methods of Western nations. In 1908 
a so-called " Committee of Union and Progress " was formed 
in the Turkish port of Salonica. In July this committee declared 
that Turkey must have a constitution and that the reformers 
would march on Constantinople if the Sultan did not yield. 
The aged Sultan, Abdul Hamid, did not feel himself in a posi- 
tion to oppose the movement, and so even Turkey got a consti- 
tution at last. The election of representatives to the Turkish 
parliament took place, and the assembly was opened by the 
Sultan with great pomp in December, 1908. This "bloodless 
revolution " attracted the attention of Europe, and every one 
wondered whether the Young Turks, who were few in number 



Turkey and the Eastern Question 



697 



and impracticable in their notions of government, would really 
succeed in reforming such a thoroughly corrupt government as 
that of Abdul Hamid, who had hated and cruelly suppressed 
every tendency toward betterment during his long reign. 

Bulgaria immediately seized the occasion to declare itself Austria 
entirely independent of Turkey. Next Austria proclaimed the Bosnia and 
annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two Slavic provinces of Herze g° vina 




Fig. 184. Turkish Parliament Buildings 

A representative parliament in Turkey would naturally include Arme- 
nians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, and Arabs. But the Young Turk 
party managed it so that the Turks should rule 



Turkey which she had been managing since the settlement of 
1878 at the Congress of Berlin. She set to work to Germanize 
them as completely as possible and suppress all tendencies to 
join their Slavic relatives in Serbia. A glance at the map will 
show how important these provinces are for Austria, since they 
connect her other main possessions with Dalmatia and her 
ports on the Adriatic. It was in the capital of Bosnia that the 
event occurred which led to the general European war of 19 14. 



698 Medieval and Modern Times 

Difficulties The Young Turks encountered ever-increasing difficulties. 

Young Turks They naturally thought that it would be a wise thing to deprive 
the unruly populations of Albania and Macedonia of their arms. 
This led to a vast amount of trouble, for the people were at- 
tached to their guns and swords, and besides they might need 
them any minute either to kill their neighbors or defend them- 
selves. The Albanians had always been willing to fight for the 
Turks, but on their own terms, and they had no inclination to 
join the regular army or to pay taxes, as the new government 
wished. So there were successive revolts in Albania and Mace- 
donia, and the disorder under the new constitution was worse 
than under the old despotism. Then the officials and politicians 
who liked the old ways of doing things organized a revolt in 
Constantinople which had to be put down. Old Abdul Hamid 
was deposed, imprisoned, and his brother made Sultan under 
the title of Mohammed V. In spite of this the Young Turks 
found it increasingly difficult to maintain their position against 
their many opponents. 

War between In September, 191 1, Italy determined to declare war on 

Turkey Turkey, on the ground that Italian subjects in Tripoli were not 

properly treated. All Europe protested against this " high- 
handed " action by Italy ; but Italy replied that she was merely 
following the example set by other countries — protecting the 
lives and property of her citizens by annexing a country beset 
by chronic disorders. Turkey was no match for Italy. There 
was not a great deal of fighting, but Italy took possession of 
such portions of Tripoli as she could hold with her troops, and 
also captured the island of Rhodes. The Young Turks did not 
feel that they could face the unpopularity of ceding these to 
Italy, but after the war had dragged on for a year they were 
forced in October, 19 12, by the oncoming of a new Balkan 
war, to cede Tripoli, reserving only a vague Turkish suzerainty. 
Italy continued to hold Rhodes too. 

Venizelos, who had been reorganizing Greece with the ability 
of a Cavour, secretly arranged an alliance with Bulgaria, Serbia, 



Turkey and the Eastern Question 



699 



and little Montenegro for a war with Turkey, which began in The Balkan 
October, 19 12. The Turkish army disappointed every one, and against 
the Bulgarians were able in a few days to defeat it, invest the Turke y 
important fortress of Adrianople, and drive the Turkish forces 
back close to Constantinople. The Greeks advanced into 




The Rival Claims of the Balkan Powers 

Each of the Balkan powers claims that it should hold the land where 
members of its nation or race live. Since these are intermingled, there 
is constant source of quarrel, especially in Macedonia, where Bulgars, 
Serbs, and Greeks are all found, along with Turks. The JEgean islands 
and parts of the coast of Asia Minor are also claimed by Greece 



Macedonia and Thrace, and the Montenegro and Serbian army The first 
defeated the Turkish army sent against them and attacked Ig a I2 an 
Albania. 

Austria now began to get very nervous lest the Serbians Austria 
should establish themselves on the Adriatic. She forbade Serbia 
to hold the port of Durazzo. Had Russia been inclined to sup- 
port Serbia at that moment the general European war would 



balks Serbia 



7<do 



Medieval and Modern Times 



probably have broken out at the end of 191 2 instead of two 
years later. Serbia, however, backed down. A truce was ar- 
ranged and representatives of the Balkan States and of Turkey 
met in London to see if peace could be arranged. The powers 
advised Turkey to give up everything in Europe except Con- 
stantinople and the region immediately to the west. The Young 
Turks decided, however, to fight a little longer, and the war was 




Fig. 185. Trees from which War Victims have eaten 
the Bark 

Most of the atrocities of the Balkan wars are too horrible even to repeat. 

This grove of trees, on a small island, was stripped of bark by the 

starving victims imprisoned there without food. Each side seems to 

have been guilty of cruelty and murder 



Treaty of 
London 



Second 
Balkan War, 
I9I3 



resumed in January. Everything went against them, and in May 
preliminaries of peace were signed in London in which Turkey 
turned over Macedonia and Crete 1 to the Balkan allies. 

But Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece were all jealous of one an- 
other, and the division of the booty led immediately to Bulgaria's 
turning around to wage war on Greece and Serbia. There was 
a month of frightful war (July, 19 13) and then the Bulgarians, 

1 This island had revolted from Turkey in 1909 and raised the Greek flag. 



Turkey and the Eastern Question 



701 



defeated on all sides, — for even the Turks recovered Adrianople 
and the Roumanians invaded on the east, — agreed to consider 
peace, and delegates met in Bucharest, the capital of Roumania. 
Here the partition of Macedonia was agreed upon. 

The treaties concluded at Bucharest between the Balkan 
kingdoms disposed of practically all of Turkey's possessions in 
Europe. The Sultan was left with Constantinople and a small 




Fig. 186. The Bosporus 

Looking across to Asia from Robert College (American). These "towers 

of Europe," about five miles above Constantinople, were erected by the 

Turks in their campaign against the city in the fifteenth century 

area to the west including the important fortress of Adrianople. 
The great powers, particularly Austria, had insisted that Albania 
should be made an independent state, so as to prevent Serbia's 
getting a port on the Adriatic. The rest of the former Turkish 
possessions were divided up between Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, 
and Montenegro. Greece got the important port of Salonica and 
the island of Crete as well as a considerable area in Macedonia. 
Bulgaria was extended to the ^Egean Sea on the south. Serbia 
was nearly doubled in area, and Montenegro as well. (See map.) 



Treaty of 
Bucharest 



702 Medieval and Modern Times 



QUESTIONS 

Section 143. Review the rise of the Turkish empire in Europe. 
Why was it not on a stable footing ? Why has Russia been so anx- 
ious to overthrow the Turks? Why did not the governments of 
Europe hasten to the aid of the Greek patriots? What statesmen 
were directing the governments of Europe at that time ? 

Section i 44. How did the Turks treat the Christians in Turkey ? 
Why should Napoleon III not have left the protection of Christians 
in Palestine to the Tsar? Had France ever played much of a role 
in Palestine before ? Give the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Did the 
Crimean War accomplish permanent results ? 

Section 145. Where did the new troubles in Turkey begin? 
Why did not the powers of Europe stop the Turkish massacres? 
Were the English all agreed on this? How near to Constantinople 
did the Russian armies get in 1878? How was the Balkan situation 
arranged by the Congress of Berlin ? Why is it important to study 
these details ? Go over the section carefully, studying the map. 

Section 146. Describe the Balkan races. What was the reason 
for the Young Turk revolution? Why would it be difficult for a 
Turkish parliament to be truly representative of the people ? Point out 
the importance of Austria's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
Is there anything to be said against the policy of the Young Turks? 
Could Turkey be made over easily into a modern nation ? How did 
the first Balkan alliance come about? Sketch the history of the 
Balkans through both wars. How did Bulgaria come out of it? 
W 7 ho received Macedonia in the Treaty of Bucharest? Why has 
the Balkan situation been for years a great menace to the peace 
of Europe? 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE EXPANSION OF EUROPE IN THE NINETEENTH 
CENTURY 

The Growth of International Trade and 
Competition : Imperialism 

147. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, Europe has The foreign 
become a busy world of shops and factories, which produce Europe 
much more than Europeans can use. So new markets are con- 
stantly sought in distant parts of the world. The trade with 
the Far East, which, as we have seen, led to the discovery of 
America, has grown in the nineteenth century to enormous 
extent, scattering the wares of London, Paris, or Hamburg 
through China and -India and the islands of the Pacific. This 
world trade is one of the great facts of history ; for it has led 
the European nations to plant new colonies and to try to 
monopolize markets in Asia and Africa and wherever else they 
could. This has brought rivalries between the nations at home, 
and it was one of the causes of the Great European War. 

This prodigious expansion of commerce was made possible by Beginnings 
the discovery that steam could be used to carry goods cheaply navigation 
and speedily to all parts of the earth. Steamships and railways 
have made the world one great market place. 

The problem of applying steam to navigation had long occu- Robert 
pied inventors, but the honor of making the steamship a success 
commercially belongs to Robert Fulton. In the spring of 1807 
he launched his Clermont at New York, and in the autumn of 
that year the "new water monster" made its famous trip to 
Albany. Transoceanic steam navigation began in 18 19 with 

703 



7o 4 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Steady 
increase in 
the size and 
speed of 
ocean vessels 



the voyage of the steamer Savannah from Savannah to Liver- 
pool, which took twenty-five days, sails being used to help* the 
engine. The Great Western, which startled the world in 1838 
by steaming from Bristol to New York in fifteen days and ten 
hours, was a ship of 1378 tons, 212 feet long, with a daily 
consumption of 36 tons of coal. 1 Now a commercial map of 
the world shows that the globe is crossed in every direction by 




Fig. 187. The Savannah 



The Suez 
Canal com- 
pleted in 
1869 



definite routes which are followed by innumerable freight and 
passenger steamers passing regularly from one port to another, 
and few of all these thousands of ships are as small as the 
famous Great Western. 

The East and the West have been brought much nearer 
together by the piercing of the Isthmus of Suez, which for- 
merly barred the way from the Mediterranean Sea to the 

1 Compare this with the Lusitania, which had a tonnage of 32,500 tons, 
engines of 68,000 horse power, was 785 feet long, and carried a supply of over 
5000 tons of coal for its journey across the Atlantic, which lasted less than five 
days. A German vessel, the Imperator, was launched in 1912, having a tonnage 
of over 50,000 tons. 



Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth Century 705 

Indian Ocean. This enterprise was carried out under the 
direction of the great French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps. 
After ten years of work the canal was opened to traffic in 
November, 1869. 

The construction of a canal through the Isthmus of Panama Panama 

Canal 

was undertaken in 1881 by a French company organized by 
de Lesseps; but the company failed, and in 1902 the Congress 
of the United States authorized the President to purchase for 
forty million dollars the property in which the French investors 
had sunk so much money. Arrangements with the republic of 
Colombia for the construction of the canal by the United States 
having come to naught, the state of Panama, through which 
the line of the proposed canal passes, seceded from Colombia . 
in 1903, and its independence was immediately recognized by 
President Roosevelt. A treaty in regard to the canal zone was ' 
then duly concluded with the. new republic, and after some 
delays the work of the French company was resumed by the 
United States and practically completed in 19 15. 

Just as the gigantic modern steamship has taken the place Thebegin- 
of the schooner for the rapid trade of the world, so, on land, steam °oco- 
the merchandise which used to be dragged by means of horses J 11 ^ 1011 on 
and oxen or carried in slow canal boats is being transported in 
long trains of capacious cars, each of which holds as much as 
fifteen or twenty large wagons. The story of the locomotive, 
like that of the spinning machine or steam engine, is the history 
of many experiments and their final combination by a successful 
inventor, George Stephenson. " 

In 18 1 4 i Stephenson built a small locomotive, known as " Puff- George 
ing Billy," which was used at the mines, and in 1825, with the (17S1-1848) 
authorization of Parliament, he opened between Stockton and and the d f , 

' r velopment of 

Darlington, in the northern part of England, a line for the con- railways in 
veyance of passengers and freight. About this time a road was 
being projected between Liverpool and Manchester, and in 
an open competition, in which five locomotives were entered, 
Stephenson's " Rocket " was chosen for the new railroad, which 



yo6 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Spread of 
railways 



The possibil- 
ity^ of world 
" news " 



was formally opened in 1830. This famous engine weighed 
about seven tons and ran at an average speed of thirteen miles 
an hour — a small affair when eompared with the giant loco- 
motive of our day, weighing a hundred tons and running fifty 
miles an hour. 1 Within fifteen years trains were running regu- 
larly between Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, 
and at the close of the century Great Britain had twenty-two 
thousand miles of railway carrying over a billion passengers 
annually. 

The first railway was opened in France in 1828, the first 
in Germany in 1835, but the development of the system was 
greatly hindered by the territorial divisions which then existed. 
Now Europe is bound together by a network of nearly two 
hundred thousand miles of railway, but railway construction is 
rapidly advancing in Africa and Asia, preparing cheap outlets 
for the products of Western mills and mines. As we have seen, 
the Trans-Siberian road has connected Europe overland with 
the Pacific, 2 and Russia has also pushed lines southward toward 
Persia and Afghanistan ; British India has over thirty thousand 
miles, and the importance of the new railroads in China and 
Turkey is so great as to involve rival European nations and 
so contribute a cause of war. 3 

Quite as essential to the world market as railway and steam- 
ship lines are the easy and inexpensive means of communica- 
tion afforded by the post, telephone, telegraph, and cable. The 
English " penny post " is now so commonplace as no longer to 
excite wonder, but to men of Frederick the Great's time it would 
have seemed impossible. Until 1839, in England the postage on 
an ordinary letter was a shilling for a short distance. In that 

1 It will be rioted that this is the average speed on regular runs. For short 
distances the " Rocket " made thirty-five miles an hour, while the modern loco- 
motive, as is well known, sometimes runs over a hundred miles an hour. 

2 See above, p. 6S2. 

3 The Japanese and Russians have used the railways of Manchuria to estab- 
lish themselves along the route. The German concession from Turkey of a 
railroad from Constantinople to Bagdad was very unwelcome to English and 
Russians. 






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THE EUROPEAN 

ADVANCE (TO 191 4) IN 

ASIA 



Goal 

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 (Port.yt 



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SCALE OF MILES 

tisli Territory | I German Territory I I 



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THE MATTHEW5-N0RTHRUP WORKS 



French Territory I I United States Territory 1 I . 

Railroads — ■ Proposed Railroads ■ — > 



Lcmgitude 50 East from 60 Greenwich 



Expansion of Ettrope in the Nineteenth Century 707 

year a reform measure long advocated by Rowland Hill was Penny 
carried, establishing a uniform penny post throughout Great 
Britain. Other European countries have followed the example 
of Great Britain in reducing postage, and now the world is 
moving rapidly in the direction of a universal two-cent rate. 

No less wonderful is the development of the telegraph sys- Telegraph 
tern. Distant and obscure places in Africa and Asia are being p h ne 
brought into close touch with one another and with Europe. 
China now has lines connecting all the important cities of the 
republic and affording direct overland communication between 
Peking and Paris. In October, 1907, Marconi established 
regular communication across the Atlantic by means of the 
wireless system of telegraphy discovered some years before ; 
and now the wireless telephone can carry the voice from 
Washington to Paris. 

The industrial revolution which enables Europe to produce Competition 
far more goods than it can sell in its own markets, and the markets 
rapid transportation which permits producers to distribute their 
commodities over the whole surface of the globe, have com- 
bined to produce a keen competition for foreign markets. The 
European nations have secured the control of practically all the 
territory occupied' by defenseless peoples in Africa and Asia, 
and have introduced Western ideas of business into China and 
Japan, where steamships now ply the navigable rivers and 
railroads are being rapidly built. 

The process of colonization and of Westernizing the oriental Foreign 
peoples has been further hastened by European and American 
capitalists investing in railroads and mines in backward coun- 
tries. Great Britain alone is said to have about ten billion 
dollars invested abroad; one fifth of Russian industrial enter- 
prises are financed by foreigners, who are also to a consider- 
able extent constructing the railroads in China. The Germans 
supply the money for large banking concerns in Brazil, Buenos 
Aires, and Valparaiso, which in turn stimulate industry and 
the construction of railways. 



yoS 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Various 
forms of 
imperialism 



The mission- 
ary as an 
agent of im- 
perialism 



The Roman 
Catholic mis- 
sionary move- 
ment 



These two powerful forces — factories seeking markets and 
capital seeking investment — are shaping the foreign and com- 
mercial policies of every important European country. They 
alone explain why the great industrial nations are embarking 
on what has been termed a policy of imperialism, which means 
a policy of adding distant territories for the purpose of con- 
trolling their products, getting the trade with the natives, and 
investing money in the development of natural resources. 
Sometimes this imperialism takes the form of outright annex- 
ation, such as the acquisition of Hawaii by the United States, 
or of Togoland by Germany. Again, it assumes the form of 
a " protectorate," which is a declaration on the part of a nation 
to the effect that, " This is our particular piece of land ; we are 
not intending to take all the responsibility of governing it just 
now ; but we want other nations to keep out, for we may annex 
it sooner or later." Sometimes imperialism goes no farther 
than the securing of concessions in undeveloped countries, 
such as foreigners have obtained in China or citizens of the 
United States in Mexico. 

The way for imperialism had been smoothed by the mission- 
aries. There have always been ardent Christians ready to obey 
the command, " Go ye into all the world and- preach the gospel 
to every creature " (Mark xvi, 15). No sooner was a new coun- 
try brought to the attention of Europeans than missionaries 
flocked thither with the traders and soldiers. When America 
was discovered and the sea route opened to the East, the Fran- 
ciscan and Dominican friars braved every danger to bring the 
Gospel to them that sat in darkness. They were reenforced 
about 1540 by the powerful Jesuit order. 1 

In 1622 the great missionary board of the Roman Catholic 
Church was given its final organization and the name it still 
retains — Congregatio de propaganda Fide. It has its head- 
quarters at Rome and is composed of twenty-nine cardinals 
and their assistants. In its colleges and schools missionaries are 
1 See above, p. 330. 



Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth Century yog 

trained for their work and taught the requisite languages. The 
Roman Catholic Church now reckons millions of adherents in 
Turkey, Persia, Arabia, India, Siam, Indo-China, Malaysia, the 
Chinese Republic, Korea, Japan, Africa, and Polynesia. 

For a long time after the Protestant Revolt the reformed Protestant 
churches showed little ardor for foreign missions. Among the 
earliest Protestant missionary associations was the Society for 
the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, founded in 1695 and 
conducted under the auspices of the Church of England. 
In the eighteenth century the Methodists and Baptists joined 
in the efforts to convert the heathen. The United States 
entered the field in 18 10, when the American Board of Foreign 
Missions was organized. As time went on, practically all the 
Protestant denominations established each its board of foreign 
missions, and the United States has rivaled Europe in the dis- 
tinction and energy of the missionaries it has sent out and in 
the generous support its people have given them. Bible soci- 
eties have been engaged in translating the Scriptures into every 
known language and scattering copies of them broadcast. 

Missionaries have not alone spread the knowledge of the Missionaries 
Christian religion, but have carried with them modern scientific an d teachers 
ideas and modern inventions. They-have reduced to writing the 
languages of peoples previously ignorant of the existence of an 
alphabet. Their physicians have introduced rational methods of 
treating the sick, and their schools have given an education to 
millions who without them would have been left in complete bar- 
barism. Finally, they have encouraged thousands of Japanese, 
Chinese, and representatives of other peoples to visit Europe 
and America, and thus prepare themselves to become apostles 
of Western ideas among their fellows. The explorations and 
investigations carried on by the missionaries have vastly in- 
creased the knowledge of the world and its inhabitants. Their 
maps and their scientific reports on languages and customs have 
often proved of the highest value. They have also created a 
demand for Western goods and opened the way for trade. 



yio 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Relations of Europe with China 



Early knowl- 
edge of China 



Europeans 
excluded 
from China 



The "Opium 
War" 



148. The relations of Europe to China extend back into 
ancient times. Some of the Roman emperors, including Mar- 
cus Aurelius, sent embassies to the Chinese monarch, and in the 
Middle Ages some missionaries labored to introduce Christianity 
into China. It was not, however, until after the opening of the 
water route around the Cape of Good Hope that European 
trade with China became important. Early in the sixteenth 
century Portuguese merchants appeared in Chinese harbors, 
offering Western merchandise in exchange for tea and silks. In 
1537 the Portuguese rented a trifling bit of land of Macao, off 
Canton — a post which they hold to-day. 

However, the Chinese did not welcome foreign interference. 
Their officials regarded the European merchants as barbarians. 
When, in 1655, the Dutch sent two envoys to the Chinese em- 
peror, they were only received on condition that they would 
prostrate themselves before his throne and strike their heads 
nine times on the earth as evidence of their inferiority. In spite 
of this treatment Dutch and English merchants flocked to 
Canton, the sole port at which the Chinese emperor permitted 
regular commerce with foreign countries. 

Repeated efforts were made, particularly by the English, to 
get into direct communication with the government at Peking, 
but they were steadily rebuffed and were only able to establish 
the commercial relations which they sought by an armed con- 
flict in 1840, known as the "Opium War." The Chinese had 
attempted to prevent all traffic in this drug, but the English 
found it so profitable that they were unwilling to give up the 



* The picture opposite gives an example of cheap Chinese labor. 
The coolies received one fourteenth of one cent for hauling the ship 
up the rapids. Now the rocks have been cleared away by dynamite, 
and steamboats have displaced the coolies. The other picture shows 
how the thrifty Chinese have terraced the hills so that not a drop of 
water is wasted nor a foot of the fertile ground left uncultivated. 




Chinese Coolies hauling a Boat* 







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Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth Century 71 1 

trade. When, in 1839, the Chinese government seized many 
thousand chests of opium and informed the British that the 
traffic would have to stop, war broke out. 

The British, of course, with their modern implements of war- 
fare, were speedily victorious, and the Chinese were forced to 




Fig. 188. The Great Wall of China at the Nankow Pass 

This great wall, 15 to 30 feet high and 15 to 25 feet broad, extends for 
1400 miles along the northern borders of China. Part of it was built in 
the third century B.C., part in the fourteenth century A.D., as a barrier 
to the Tartar tribes. The civilization of China is very old and the 
Chinese have been proudly disdainful of Western ways and inventions 
until recently, when nations supplied with these inventions have been 
threatening the very independence of China 

agree, in the Treaty of Nanking, to pay a heavy indemnity, to The opening 
cede to the British the island of Hongkong, which lies at the p 0rt r r ay 
mouth of the Canton River, and to open to foreign commerce 
the ports of Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai on the 
same terms as Canton. The United States, taking advantage 
of this war, secured similar commercial privileges in 1844. 



712 Medieval and Modern Times 

The French From the Opium War to the present date China has been 
in China troubled with foreign invasions. Napoleon III, supported by 

the English, waged war on China in 1858 and forced the em- 
peror to open new ports to European trade, including Tientsin, 
which was dangerously near the imperial city of Peking. Re- 
cently China has been thrown open to the foreign merchants 
to a very great extent, and the " concessions " demanded by 
the great powers have caused some fear that the whole country 
might be divided among them. 1 

Japan becomes a World Power ; Intervention 
in China 

The extraor- 1 49. To the northeast of China lies a long group of islands 
of n japan S 0ry which, if they lay off the eastern coast of North America, would 
extend from Maine to Georgia. This archipelago, comprising 
four main islands and some four thousand smaller ones, is the 
center of the Japanese Empire. Fifty years ago Japan was still 
almost completely isolated from the rest of the world ; but now, 
through a series of extraordinary events, she has become one 
of the conspicuous members of the family of nations. American 
newspapers deal as fully with her foreign policy as with that of 
France or Germany ; we are familiar with the portraits of her 
statesmen and warriors, and her exquisite art has many enthusi- 
astic admirers in England and America. Her people, who are 
somewhat more numerous than the inhabitants of the British 
Isles, resemble the Chinese in appearance and owe to China 
the beginnings of their culture and their art. 
Peny forces During the sixteenth century Dutch and English traders car- 
openports° TlGc ^ on some business in Japan, but they as well as the mission- 
aries became unpopular and were all driven out. For nearly 
two centuries Japan cut herself off almost entirely from the 
outer world. In 1853 Commodore Perry landed in Yokohama 
and asked that United States ships be allowed to dispose of 

1 See below, p. 715. 



Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth Century 713 



their cargoes at one or two ports at least. This was allowed, 
and soon other powers got the right to trade with Japan, and 
the Japanese decided that they must acquaint themselves with 
European science and inventions if they hoped to protect them- 
selves against European encroachments. In 187 1 feudalism 
was abolished, serf- 
dom was done away 
with, and the armb- 
and navy were rap- 
idly remodeled on a 
European pattern. In 
1889 a constitution 
was established pro- 
viding for a parlia- 
ment. Factories were 
built, several thou- 
sand miles of railroads 
were constructed, and 
Japan was pretty 
thoroughly modern- 
ized within a gen- 
eration. 

Japan, having be- 
come a manufactur T 
ing people, wished to 
extend her trade and 
was specially anxious 

to get control of the neighboring Korea, which was claimed by 
China. The Japanese easily defeated the Chinese in a short war 
(189 4- 1895). Korea was declared independent (which practi- 
cally meant opening it up to Japan), but Russia intervened to 
prevent the Japanese from getting a foothold on the mainland. 
She induced China instead to permit her to build a railroad 
across Manchuria and to lease Port Arthur to her. This she 
fortified and connected by rail with the Trans-Siberian Railroad. 



Rapid adop- 
tion of Eu- 
ropean ideas 




\"h ? : ; ; : 



Fig. 1 



Japanese Warriors 



The men who led the Japanese armies in 

the great war with Russia had learned, as 

boys, to fight in armor with sword and spear, 

like these warriors 



War with 
China 



Russia profits 
by Japanese 
victory 



714 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Germans 

take 

Kiaochow 



Meanwhile the Germans found an excuse for strengthening 
themselves in the same region. A German missionary having 
been murdered in the province of Shantung, which lies oppo- 
site Korea, a German squadron appeared in Kiaochow Bay, 
in November, 1897, landed a force of marines, and raised the 
German flag. As a compensation for the murder of the 




Japanese 
capture it, 
1914 



Fig. 190. Japanese Feudal Castle 

Contrast this stronghold of feudal days in Japan with the grim castles 

of Europe in the Middle Ages. Rival parties among the Japanese 

nobles now contend only in parliament 

missionary, Germany demanded a long lease of Kiaochow, with 
the right to build railways in the region and work mines. Upon 
acquiring KiaochOw the Germans built harbors, constructed 
forts, military barracks, machine shops, etc. In short, a model 
German town was constructed on the Chinese coast, which, 
with its defenses, was designed to form a base for further 
extension of Germany's sphere of influence. It was captured 
by the Japanese, however, in 19 14. 



Expansion of Europe in Nineteenth Century 715 

Great Britain, learning of the negotiations, sent a fleet north- Britain leases 
ward from Hongkong to the Gulf of Pechili, and induced China Weihaiwei 
to lease to her Weihaiwei, which lay just between the recent 
acquisitions of Germany and Russia. England, moreover, be- 
lieved it to be for her interest to be on good terms with Japan, 
and in 1902 an offensive and defensive alliance was concluded 
between the two powers, binding each to assist the other in case 
a third party joined in a conflict in which either was involved. 
For example, England, under the provisions, would have to aid 
Japan in a war with Russia, should France or Germany intervene. 

The foreigners were by no means content with establishing china open 
trading posts in China; they longed to develop the neglected aggressfon 
natural resources of the empire, to open up communication by 
railroads and steamships, and to Westernize the orientals, in 
order that business might be carried on more easily with them 
and new opportunities be found for profitable investments. 

The Chinese at first opposed the building of railroads, but Signs of 
during the past twenty years several thousand miles of track china brings 
have been laid and many other lines are planned. Telegraphs hellion 
and post offices of the European type have been established. 
In 1898, after the war with Japan, China began to remodel her 
army and to send her students to study in foreign universities. 
These reforms aroused the violent opposition of a party known 
as the " Boxers," who hated the missionaries and business men 
from the Western countries. They declared that the new ideas 
would ruin China and that the European powers would tear 
China to pieces like tigers, if given a chance. 

In June, 1900, the Boxers killed the German ambassador and European 
besieged the Europeans in Peking, and appeared to be on the f rom j ts sup . 
point of massacring them all. The foreign powers — Japan, P ression 
Russia, Great Britain, the United States, France, and Germany 
— immediately collected a joint army which fought its way from 
the coast to Peking and brought relief to their imperiled fellow 
countrymen in the Chinese capital. The European troops looted 
the palace of the Chinese emperor, and the conduct of some of 



yi6 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Chinese 

parliament 

established 



them disgraced the Christian world. China was. forced to pay 
an indemnity of three hundred and twenty millions of dollars 
and pledge itself to suppress the Boxers and every society that 
was opposed to the presence of foreigners. 1 

After the trouble in Peking was over, the Chinese government 
took up the reforms once more, and in 1906 a proclamation 
was issued promising that a Chinese parliament should be es- 
tablished and the old system of absolute rule abandoned forever. 



Russia in 
Manchuria 
angers Japan 



Japan well 
organized 



Russo- 
Japanese War 



Russia and Japan 

150. Scarcely had the Boxer rising been put down when it 
became apparent that Japan and Russia were drifting into war. 
Russia refused to evacuate Manchuria and insisted on getting 
a hold in Korea, even sending Cossacks to build forts there. 
Japan declared that Russia had repeatedly promised to withdraw 
her troops from Manchuria and had agreed that Korea should 
be independent. As the Tsar's government gave the Japa- 
nese no satisfaction, they boldly went to war with Russia in 
February, 1904. 

Japan was well prepared for war and was, moreover, within 
easy reach of the field of conflict. The Russian government, on 
the contrary, was rotten to the core and was already engaged 
in a terrible struggle with the Russian nation. 2 The eastern 
boundary of European Russia lay three thousand miles from 
Port Arthur, and the only means of communication was the 
single line of badly constructed railroad that stretched across 
Siberia to the Pacific. 

Three days after the war opened, the Japanese fleet surprised 
the Russian battleships lying off Port Arthur, sank four of 
them, and drove the rest into the harbor, where they succeeded, 
in the main, in keeping them "bottled up." A second fleet 
which had been stationed at Vladivostok was defeated early in 

1 The United States returned its share of the indemnity, and China, in grati- 
tude, is spending it to educate students in America. 2 See above, pp. 685 f. 



Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth Century 7 1 7 

May, thus giving Japan control of the seas. At the same time Japanese 
the Russians were driven back in Korea, and the Japanese 
under General Oku landed on the Liaotung peninsula, cut off 
Port Arthur from communication with Russia, and captured 
the town of Dalny, which they made their naval headquarters. 
General Oku then began pushing the Russians northward 
toward Mukden, while General Nogi was left to besiege Port Port Arthur 
Arthur. For months the world watched in suspense the heroic 
attacks which the Japanese, at deadly cost to themselves, made 
upon the Russian fortress. In October the Japanese were vic- 
torious in a fearful battle which raged south of Mukden for 
days, thus putting an end to General Kuropatkin's designs 
for relieving Port Arthur. As winter came on, the Japanese 
redoubled their efforts and the fortress at last surrendered, on 
January i, 1905, after a siege of seven months, the horrors of 
which are perhaps without a parallel. 

The conduct of the war on the part of the Japanese affords Japanese 
one of the most extraordinary examples on record of military 
organization and efficiency. By means of an ingenious system 
of telephones they kept every division of the army in direct 
communication with the war office in Tokyo, and by the strict- 
est discipline they checked , disease and contagion in the hospi- 
tals. The Russian sanitary service was also of high order, as 
compared with previous wars. Late in February fighting again Battle of 
began, and for three weeks the Russians struggled against the u en 
combined Japanese armies ; but on March 9 they deserted 
Mukden and moved northward, after forty thousand of them 
had been killed and over a hundred thousand wounded. 

Russia meanwhile dispatched its Baltic squadron to the Orient. Russian fleet 
After some strange adventures, which aroused both amusement es roye 
and disgust, 1 it arrived in May in the strait of Korea, where 

1 As the squadron was passing through the North Sea the Russians fired 
upon a fishing fleet off Dogger Bank, and alleged later that they mistook the 
poor fishermen for Japanese. This is but one of numerous examples of the 
incompetence which was shown by the Russians throughout the war. 



7 i8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



President 
Roosevelt 
brings about 
Treaty of 
Portsmouth 



China be- 
comes a 
republic 



Admiral Togo was waiting for it. In a few hours he sank 
twenty-two of the Russian vessels and captured six. The Tsar's 
fleet was practically annihilated, with terrible loss of life, while 
the Japanese came out of the conflict almost unscathed. 

Lest the war should drag on indefinitely, President Roosevelt, 
acting under the provisions of the Hague Convention, took 
measures which brought about a peace. After consulting the 
representatives of Japan and Russia, he dispatched notes to the 
Tsar and the Mikado, urging them to open negotiations. This 
invitation was accepted, the conference was held at Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, and on September 5 the Treaty of Ports- 
mouth was signed. This recognized the Japanese influence as 
paramount in Korea, which, however, was to remain independ- 
ent. 1 Both the Japanese and Russians were to evacuate Man- 
churia ; the Japanese were, however, given the rights in the 
Liaotung peninsula and Port Arthur which Russia had formerly 
enjoyed. Lastly, the southern part of the Russian island of 
Sakhalin was ceded to Japan. 

Thus this great conflict produced by the friction of the 
powers in the East was brought to an end, but the wealth of 
China and the fact that it has not yet organized a strong army 
or navy leave it as a tempting prize for further aggression. 
Nevertheless, China has been changing as rapidly during the 
last five years as Japan ever did. Students of western coun- 
tries returning home determined to overthrow the Manchu (or 
Manchurian) dynasty, which had ruled for two hundred and 
sixty-seven years, and their corrupt officials. After a heroic and 
bloody struggle they forced the court, on February 12, 191 2, 
to declare the abdication of the boy-emperor then on the throne 
and the creation of a republic. But the emperor's prime minis- 
ter, Yuan Shih-kai, skillfully had himself granted full power to 



1 The Japanese have not left Korea independent. They immediately took 
control of the administration, and in the summer of 1907 forced the Korean 
emperor most unwillingly to abdicate. Finally, by the treaty of August 23, i9io ; 
Korea was annexed to the Japanese empire. 



Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth Century 719 

establish the- republic which the revolutionists had won. In this President 

way he prevented the ardent republicans, who "had done the kai attempts 

fighting, from carrying out their program of immediate reform. Jut fails' to**' 

Instead, he secretly thwarted their plans, and when he had a become 

emperor 

sufficient pretext he lessened the powers of the new Chinese 
parliament so that it was unable to oppose his will. Having 
thus prepared the way for a coup d'etat, he announced in the 




Fig. iqi. Yuan Shii-i-kai 



autumn of 19 14 that he would assume the title of "Emperor 
of China." The protest of Japan, and possibly of other powers, 
against this move led him to postpone the actual assumption of 
the crown ; for Japan feared that with a strong emperor China 
might defend itself successfully, and even become a dangerous 
rival. Then the republicans revolted, and Yuan Shih-kai finally, 
March, 19 16, fearing to lose all, declared that he would never 
accept the title " emperor," and that the whole incident had 
been a mistake. 



720 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Partition of Africa 



The " Dark 
Continent" 



Explorations 
of Living- 
stone and 
Stanley- 



Partition by 

European 

powers 



France in 
Africa 



German 
Africa 



151. The last great region to attract the attention of Euro- 
peans looking for trade was Africa. Little was known of the 
interior before 1870. Between 1850 and 1880 many explorers 
braved the torrid heat and the dangers from disease, savages, 
and wild beasts to discover the sources of the Nile and to trace 
the courses of the Zambesi and the upper Congo rivers. Of 
these Livingstone and Stanley are best known. 

Stanley's famous journey through the heart of " Darkest 
Africa " naturally aroused the intense interest of all the Euro- 
pean powers, and within ten years after his triumphant return 
to Marseilles in 1878 the entire surface of Africa had been 
divided among the powers, or marked out into " spheres of in- 
fluence." A generation ago a map of Africa was for the most 
part mere conjecture, except along the coast. To-day it is 
traversed by boundary lines surveyed almost as carefully as 
those which separate the various European countries. 

France has almost the whole of the northwestern shoulder of 
the continent, from the mouth of the Congo to Tunis. To be 
sure, a very considerable portion of the French claim is nothing 
but a desert, totally useless in its present state. On the east 
coast of Africa France controls French Somaliland, and her 
port of Jibuti, which lies at the mouth of the Red Sea, gives 
her somewhat the same advantages that Aden affords the 
English. The French also, hold the island of Madagascar. 

Between 1884 and 1890 Germany acquired four considerable 
areas of African territory, which include together nearly a mil- 
lion square miles : Togoland, Kamerun, German Southwest 
Africa, and German East Africa. The Germans made heroic 
efforts to develop these regions by building railways and schools 
and expending enormous sums in other ways, but cruel wars 
with the natives and the slight commerce which has been estab- 
lished left the experiment one of doubtful value. 1 

1 The African colonies of Italy are referred to above, p. 623. 



Expansion of Etirope in the Ni7ieteenth Century J 21 

Wedged in between German East Africa and the French Belgium and 
Congo is the Belgian Congo. King Leopold of Belgium organ- Fr e ee state 
ized a company in 1876 to explore this region, and later 
announced that he regarded himself as the ruler of the vast 
territories of the company. The conduct of this company illus- 
trates the way in which the European invaders are tempted to 
force the natives to work. The savage natives, accustomed to 
a free life in the jungle, did not relish driving spikes on railways 
or draining swamps for Belgian capitalists. The government 
therefore required native chiefs to furnish a certain number of 
workmen, and on their failure to supply the demand it has been 
customary to burn their villages. The government also required 
the natives to furnish a certain quantity of rubber each year ; 
failure to comply with these demands was cruelly punished. 
Protests in Europe and America led the Belgian ministry, in 
1908, to assume complete ownership of the Free State, which 
then took the name of the Belgian Congo. 

South Africa, as has already been explained, 1 has fallen to the British Africa 
English. They also hold important territories on the east coast 
running inland to the great lakes of Africa. But more important, 
in some ways, is their control over Egypt. That ancient seat of Egypt 
civilization had, as we have seen, 2 been conquered by the Arabs 
in the seventh century. Through the late Middle Ages it was 
ruled by a curious military class known as the Mamelukes, and 
only fell to the Ottoman Turks in 15 17. With the decline of 
the Sultan's power the country fell under the domination of the 
Mameluke Beys, or leaders ; and it was against these that 
Bonaparte fought in 1798. Shortly after Nelson and the Eng- 
lish had frustrated Bonaparte's attempt to bring Egypt under 
French rule, a military adventurer from Albania, Mehemet Ali, 
compelled the Sultan to recognize him as governor of Egypt 
in 1805. A few years later he brought about the massacre of 
the Mamelukes and began a series of reforms. He created an 
army and a fleet, and not only brought all Egypt under his 
1 See above, pp. 669 ff. 2 See above, p. 72. 



722 



Medieval and Modern Times 



The English 
in Egypt 



Conquest of 
the Sudan 



sway, but established himself at Khartum where he could con- 
trol the Sudan, 1 or region of the upper Nile. Before his death 
in 1849 ne na d induced the Sultan to recognize his heirs as 
rightful rulers, Khedives, 2 of Egypt. 

The importance of Egypt for the Western powers was greatly 
increased by the construction of the Suez Canal begun in 
1859, 3 for both Port Said on the Mediterranean and Suez on 
the Red Sea are Egyptian ports. The English were able to get 
a foothold in Egypt through the improvidence of the Egyptian 
ruler, Ismail I, who came to the throne in 1863 and by reckless 
extravagance involved his country in a heavy debt which forced 
him to sell a block of his canal shares to the British govern- 
ment. Still heavily in debt, however, Ismail was forced by his 
English and French creditors to let them oversee his financial 
administration. This foreign intervention aroused discontent in 
Egypt, and the natives revolted in 1882, demanding " Egypt for 
the Egyptians." Inasmuch as France declined to join in suppress- 
ing the rebellion, England undertook it alone, and after putting 
down the uprising assumed a temporary occupation of the coun- 
try and the supervision of the army and finances of Egypt. After 
the rebellion of 1882 the British continued their " temporary 7 " 
occupation, until shortly after the opening of the war of 19 14, 
when England assumed a permanent protectorate over Egypt. 

Soon after the British conquest of Egypt, trouble arose in 
the Sudan, where a revolt against the Khedive's government 
was organized under the leadership of Mohammed Ahmed, who 
claimed to be the Messiah and found great numbers of fanat- 
ical followers who called him El Mahdi, " the leader." General 
Gordon was in charge of the British garrison at Khartum. 
Here he was besieged by the followers of the Mahdi in 1885, 
and after a memorable defense fell a victim to their fury, thus 



1 The term " Sudan " (see map) was applied by the Mohammedans to the 
whole region south of the Sahara Desert, but as now used it commonly means 
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan only. 

2 This title was assumed by the ruler of Egypt with the consent of the Sultan. 

3 See above, p. 704. 




AFRICA 



Showing: the Colonies, Dependencies, 
Protectorates, and Spheres of Influence of 
the different European States until 1914. 

XEGEND 
British UZ2 FrenchtZZ] German[ZZ] 
Portuguese CZ! ItalianCZ] 
^Regions not under European control are uncolored 

Railways \ £ inish «l 

Proposed 



Scale of Miles 



Longitude 20 West from 10 Greenwich 



Cape TownV 

C. of Good Hop 




Greenwich 70 



Expansion of Europe in the Nineteenth CentiLry 723 

adding a tragic page to the military history of the British 
empire. This disaster was avenged twelve years later, when 
in 189 7- 1898 the Sudan was reconquered and the city of 
Khartum was taken by the British- under General Kitchener. 

During the occupation of Egypt by the English the progress Prosperity 
of the country has been unquestioned ; industry and commerce 
are growing steadily, public works have been constructed, and 




Fig. 192. Gordon College, Khartum 

This college, named for their murdered general, was erected by the 
British to' teach the sons of their former enemies the arts of civiliza- 
tion. On the campus is a mosque, for the British do not interfere with 
the religion of these Sudanese tribesmen 

financial order has been reestablished under the supervision of 
the English agent, whose word is law. A large dam has been 
built across the Nile at Assuan to control the floods. There 
is strict honesty in the government, and Egypt has never, in 
all its long history, been so prosperous. 



The Disruption of the Spanish Empire 

152. In striking contrast to the other powers of Europe — 
Great Britain, France, Germany, and even Italy (who won 
Tripoli in 19 12) — stands Spain, who could once boast that 
the sun never set on her empire. The Spanish colonies in 



724 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Revolt of 
the Spanish- 
American 
colonies 



The message 
of President 
Monroe 



War between 
Spain and 
the United 
States 



America — Mexico, New Granada (now Colombia), Venezuela, 
Peru, Buenos Aires, and Chile — ■ took advantage of Napoleon's 
seizure of the throne of Spain to revolt from the mother 
country in 1810. The great liberator, in the war which fol- 
lowed in South America, was Bolivar, for whom Upper Peru 
was named Bolivia. When Spain proved unable to suppress 
this revolution, Metternich and his friends proposed that the 
other powers help crush it. This led President Monroe, in his 
message to Congress, 1823, to state that the United States 
would consider any attempt on the part of the European allies 
of Spain to extend their system to any part of this hemisphere 
as dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States and 
as an unfriendly act. This " Monroe Doctrine " * has been a 
basis of American policies for almost a century. England took 
practically the same attitude as the United States, and Spain 
was forced to grant the colonies their independence. 

Spain still held Cuba, the Philippines, and some other islands. 
But misrule, resulting in constant disorders in these colonies, 
finally led the United States to intervene. In 1895 the last of 
many Cuban insurrections against Spain broke out, and sym- 
pathy was immediately manifested in the United States. Both 
political parties during the presidential campaign of 1896 de- 
clared in favor of the Cubans, and with the inauguration of 
McKinley a policy of intervention was adopted. The American 
government demanded the recall of General Weyler — whose 
cruelty had become notorious — and a reform in the treatment 
of prisoners of war. In February, 1898, the battleship Maine 
was mysteriously blown up in the harbor of Havana, where it 
had been sent in American interests. Although the cause of 
this disaster could not be discovered, the United States, main- 
taining that the conditions in Cuba were intolerable, declared 
war on Spain in April. 

The war was brief, for the American forces were everywhere 
victorious. Cuba and Porto Rico were lost to Spain, and by the 

1 See Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, p. 42. 



its island 
colonies 



Expansion of Et trope in the Nineteenth Century 725 

capture of the city of Manila in May, the Philippine Islands also 
fell to the United States. Peace was reestablished in August, 
and representatives were shortly sent to Paris to arrange the Spain loses 
final terms. Cuba was declared independent ; Porto Rico, with 
the adjoining islands of Vieques and Culebra, and the Philip- 
pines were ceded to the United States. 1 The following year 
the Caroline and Pelew islands were transferred to Germany, 
and thus the territory of Spain was reduced to the Spanish 
peninsula, the Balearic and Canary islands, and her small 
holdings in Africa. 

By the Spanish-American War, therefore, Spain lost its 
colonial empire and the United States began its career as 
a world power. 

QUESTIONS 

Section 147. Compare the relative progress of the European 
nations in commerce and industry. How did the Industrial Revolu- 
tion open world trade ? Compare steamship and railroad as factors 
in the spread of commerce. What change in the routes of trade was 
made by the Suez Canal ? the Panama Canal ? How were railroads 
built in Europe ? Look up, in some work of reference, the progress 
of railroads just before and during the European war. How does 
foreign commerce stimulate imperialism ? Sketch the work of the 
Catholic and Protestant missionaries. What effects do they have in 
spreading European culture? 

Section 148. Why should the Chinese object to Europeans 
entering China? When did Europeans enter it? What is a " treaty 
port " ? Why is a " railroad concession " in a backward country 
likely to bring international disputes? What power in the East is 
most dangerously situated with regard to China? 

Section 149. Explain why the Japanese were able to pass from 
feudal to modern conditions so much more rapidly than the nations 
of Europe. How was Japan deprived of the fruits of its victory over 
China? What pretexts did the powers of Europe have in seizing 
Chinese territory ? Explain the causes of the Boxer uprising. What 
revenge did the Western nations take for their losses ? 

1 Spain also ceded to the United States the island of Guam in the Ladrone 
Archipelago, 



726 Medieval and Modern Times 

Section 150. By a study of the map, show where the interests 
of Russia and Japan clashed. Outline the Russo-Japanese War. Why 
has China been a prey to the European nations ? Would it be easy 
for China to become a republic before it became Westernized ? How 
did Yuan Shih-kai try to turn the republic into an empire ? 

Section 151. When was Africa opened up to colonization ? Why 
has it been so behind America? Mark on an outline map the pos- 
sessions of the European powers prior to the European war of 191 4. 
Sketch the history of Egypt to the middle of the nineteenth century. 
How did the English get control of Egypt? How have they used 
their control ? 

Section 152. Review the part played by Spain in the history of 
Europe prior to 1648. What effect did Napoleon have on the for- 
tunes of Spain? Describe the situation which produced the Monroe 
Doctrine. What part has been played by the United States in the 
decline of the empire of Spain? 



CHAPTER XXXV 
ORIGIN OF THE WAR OF 1914 

The Armies and Navies of Europe 



153. In August, 19 1 4, the most terrible and destructive war The incredi- 

le 

9 ] 



in the history of Europe began. Never before had millions and ^T 31 of 



millions of men been carefully trained to be ready at a moment's 
notice to march against the enemy ; never before had the Euro- 
pean armies been supplied with such deadly weapons ; never 
before had any war, however serious, so disturbed the affairs of 
the whole globe. To most thoughtful people the war came as 
a horrible surprise. They could not believe that the European 
governments would dare take the fearful responsibility of enter- 
ing upon a war which they all knew would involve untold woe 
and destruction. Nevertheless the war came, and since it is the 
most important single event in the whole history of Europe and 
perhaps of. the world, we must endeavor to see how it came 
about and what are the great questions involved. 

After Germany defeated France in 1870-1871, nearly fifty The growth 
years passed without any of the Western powers coming to ° n Europe 5 " 1 
blows with one another. This was a long and hopeful period 
of peace ; but meanwhile all the powers had been busy getting 
ready for war and each year spent vast sums to train soldiers 
and supply them with arms. Prussia has been the military 
schoolmaster of Europe. As we have seen, it began to aspire 
more than two hundred years ago to become a great power 
through the might of its army. Frederick the Great was the 
supreme military genius of the eighteenth century. But the 
modern Prussian army dates from the period when Napoleon 
humbled Prussia at Jena, for after that her statesmen had to 

727 



728 Medieval and Modern Times 

The origin of rely upon " the nation in arms " rather than an old-fashioned 
army system standing army. This had to be done at first in such a way as 
not to arouse the suspicions of the Corsican, so she hit upon 
the idea of giving her men a brief period of training in the 
army and then sending them into the reserve forces. In this 
way, without increasing the number of troops under the colors 
at any one time, she secured a very much larger force upon 
which she could call when war came. Moreover, she trained 
her officers very carefully. 
The army As we know, this army of Prussia was able to take an im- 

" blooTand S portant part in the conflict which led to Napoleon's final defeat, 
iron "policy jj er ' ^a f «the nation in arms" was not forgotten. The 
law passed in Napoleon's time making every able-bodied male 
subject of Prussia liable to military service in the army was not 
repealed. When, fifty years later, William I and Bismarck were 
preparing to take the lead in German affairs and foresaw a 
war with Austria, the annual levy of recruits was increased, 
the period of active service lengthened from two to three years, 
and the term of service in the reserve to four years. Thus 
Prussia secured an effective army of four hundred thousand 
troops, and with these she defeated Austria in 1866, led in 
the successful war against France, and gained her end of con- 
solidating Germany into the present German Empire of which 
the king of Prussia became the head. 1 
Other nations Not long after the war of 1870-187 1 all the European 
powers, except England, adopted the Prussian plan of building 
up an army by requiring all able-bodied men that the govern- 
ment could afford to train to enter the army for two or three 
years, after which they were sent into the reserve to be ready 
in case of war. A large number of permanent officers have to 
be maintained to see that the military education of the soldiers 
is properly conducted, and a vast amount has to be spent on 
rifles, cannon, and other arms, which are being constantly 
improved and rendered more and more deadly. 

1 See above, sections 125-126, 



copy Prussia 



Origin of the War of 1914 



729 



The result of this competition in armaments has been a The burden 



tremendous increase in the size of the European armies and 
a fearful burden of taxation, which the people have to bear. 
When the war opened, Germany and France had each over four 
millions of men in their armies, Russia six or seven millions, 



of militarism 




Fig. 193. The Julius Tower, Spandau, Germany 

In the tower of this fortress was guarded the imperial war treasure, 

about $30,000,000 in gold, reserved from the indemnity paid by France 

after 1870, for need in time of war. The tower is surrounded by water 

and has been guarded with great strictness and secrecy 



Austria-Hungary over two and a half millions. England's 
forces, on the other hand, numbered less than two hundred 
thousand, only a few of whom were kept in Europe ; for her 
army, like that of the United States, was recruited by voluntary 
enlistment and not built up by national conscription. 

England, however, has relied for her protection upon her England's 
unrivaled navy, which she has maintained at a strength equal 



73Q 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The naval 
ambition of 
Germany 



to that of any two other powers. The reason for this great 
navy is that England has a much larger population than can 
be fed by her own farms, and so has to import most of her 
food. Her manufactures also depend largely upon her com- 
merce. If, therefore, England should be defeated at sea she 
would be utterly overcome. 

Other nations, however, have not been willing to grant this 
supremacy of England at sea which she regards as essential 
to her existence. They have resented the ability of England 
to plant and maintain such widely scattered dominions, and are 
as anxious as the English to capture distant markets with their 
commerce and to protect that commerce by fleets. Germany, 
especially, has recently become the chief rival of England. The 
present Kaiser was from the first interested in the navy, and 
twenty years ago he declared that Germany's future lay upon 
the ocean. So in 1897 a bill was passed for the development 
of the German navy, which was built up so rapidly that the 
English began to fear for their supremacy. This made the 
English government increase the number and size of its ships. 
Other nations felt obliged to follow the example. So to the 
crushing cost of armies European nations added the cost of 
navies, in which the rapid progress of invention made battle- 
ships worthless if they were but a few years old. 



Movements for Peace : the Hague Conferences ; 
Pacifism ; Socialism 



Movements 
for peace 



154. The enormous cost of armaments, combined with hor- 
ror at the thought of a war in which so many millions would be 
fighting provided with such terrible weapons as modern science 
supplies, led many earnest people to try to prevent war alto- 
gether. Their efforts proved fruitless in 19 14, but no one can 
say that they have been entirely in vain. 

The first notable movement toward arranging for a lessening 
of armaments originated with the Tsar, Nicholas II, when in 



Origin of the War of 1914 



731 



1898 he proposed a great conference of the powers at The The Tsar 
Hague to discuss the problem. 1 Unlike the Congress of Vienna f^nce to" 
or Berlin, this Peace Conference of 1899 did not meet to bring- lessen miii- 

. ° tarism, at 

a war to a close ; it came together in a time of European peace The Hague 









. _. lifcft^™^ J L 




Fig. 194. The Peace Palace at The Hague, Holland 

This magnificent building was inaugurated as a center for the peaceful 
settlement of international disputes, in August, 19:3 — just a year before 
the war broke out. Mr. Carnegie contributed $1,500,000 to pay for it. 
Pacifists hope that it will yet be a home for congresses and tribunals 
for securing and maintaining peace 



to consider how the existing peace might be maintained and 
military expenditures reduced. 

The Hague Conference did nothing, however, toward dimin- The results 
ishing the armaments of the powers beyond expressing an ference C ° n ~ 
opinion that a restriction of the present military burden was 
extremely desirable and recommending the nations to try to 



1 For the Tsar's rescript calling the conference see Readings in Modern 
European History, Vol. II, pp. 463 ff. 



732 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Mediation 



Commissions 
of Inquiry 

The Perma- 
nent Court 
of Arbitration 



The second 
Hague Con- 
ference, 190; 



Pacifist 
movements 



lessen it. The powers agreed to recognize the right of any 
nation to offer to mediate between countries at war. They 
further recommended nations unable to come to agreement by 
negotiation to submit matters " involving neither honor nor vital 
interests " to an impartial International Commission of Inquiry. 
Finally, the powers agreed upon the establishment of a Per- 
manent Court of Arbitration. For this great court each nation 
might select four of its citizens " of recognized competence in 
international law, enjoying the highest moral reputation." From 
this long list of eminent personages any powers engaged in a 
controversy might choose a number to form a tribunal for their 
special case. The close of the first Hague Conference was 
shortly followed by a large number of treaties between the 
powers, agreeing to submit to arbitration all questions " which 
affect neither the national independence nor honor," but the 
conference did little or nothing toward providing a way to 
settle those vital issues which actually give rise to wars. 

A second conference met at The Hague in 1907, with the 
representatives of forty-seven states in attendance. 1 The pro- 
posal of the United States for a permanent international court 
to which certain matters must be referred was defeated. The 
pressing question of disarmament was dismissed by a resolution 
declaring " It is highly desirable that the governments should 
resume the serious study of the question of limiting arma- 
ments." In fact the conference confined its attention to draw- 
ing up treaties regulating the actual conduct of war, limiting the 
use of submarine mines, bettering the treatment of prisoners, 
prohibiting the bombardment of unfortified towns, and safe- 
guarding the rights of neutrals in time of war. 

Somewhat connected with these movements for international 
conferences was the work of peace societies and of the Car- 
negie Endowment for International Peace, which attempt both 
to educate the people and to influence the statesmen of various 
countries toward peaceful policies. 

1 See Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, pp. 465 f. 



Origin of the War of 1914 733 

Among the other forces making for international peace, Socialism 
one of the strongest has been socialism, which, as we saw nat ional 
above, 1 has been an international movement of working people movement 
united with the common aim of getting rid of the private 
ownership of the " means of production." The socialists have 
had great international congresses and refer to each other as 
" comrades." They have constantly criticized governments which Opposes 
have embarked on " imperialistic " policies, 2 for they claim that ism" 6 " 
only the rich man profits from the investments in distant lands 
and that the wars which ensue are not the affair of the work- 
ing class. Above all, socialism has insisted that the poor suffer 
most in war. Extreme socialists have therefore been anti- And upholds 
militarist. This means that they have objected to serving in militarism 
the armies of Europe, and so have sometimes been imprisoned 
for what is viewed as treason. However, even the socialists 
were carried away by the war fever of 19 14, and while they 
still detest imperialism and wars of conquest, they have been 
fighting each other in the great war. 



Matters of Dispute : National Rivalries 

155. The exact causes of the Great European War are still "imperial- 
questions of dispute, but the policies which led to it are those « s JsfearEasi> 
which have been outlined in the last two chapters — on the em question" 
one hand " imperialism," and on the other the " Near Eastern _ 
question." We have seen how the nations of Europe began 
in the latter part of the nineteenth century, as rivals for the 
world's trade, to seize colonies and trading posts in Africa 
and Asia, and we have also seen how they stood eying each 
other greedily and suspiciously as to which was to profit most 
from the decline of Turkey. Now we must see how these 
rivalries — which for almost fifty years had somehow been 
adjusted peacefully — were allowed, in the summer of 19 14, to 
burst out into war. 

1 See above, p. 594. 2 See above, p. 708. 



734 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Review of 
imperialistic 
policies in 
Africa 



France turns 
Italy against 
her by taking 
Tunis 



France and 
England 
in Egypt 



The " Fa- 
shoda affair ; 



Edward VII 
and the 
entente 
cordiale 



First, let us recall the exploration and partition of Africa. 
France has taken most of the Mediterranean shore, and in so 
doing has incurred, at different times, the rivalry of Italy, Eng- 
land, and Germany. Its province of Algeria, conquered in 1830 
and thoroughly subdued in 187 0-1874, had two native states 
as neighbors — Tunis and Morocco. Claiming that the Tunisian 
tribesmen were raiding the border, France conquered Tunis in 
1 88 1 and thus forestalled Italy, which had intended taking the 
site of ancient Carthage for itself. This threw Italy into the 
hands of Bismarck, and it became a member of the Triple 
Alliance with Germany and Austria. 

France and England fell out, as we have seen, 1 over Egypt. 
France backed out when England got financial control in Egypt, 
and this was bitterly resented by the French. When the English, 
under General Kitchener, had conquered the Sudan in 1898, at 
the cost of many lives, a French explorer, Colonel Marchand, 
rapidly crossed the heart of Africa from the west and planted 
the French tricolor at Fashoda, in the upper Sudan, before 
Kitchener could reach there. When word of this reached Paris 
and London, war seemed inevitable, and it would have come had 
not the French given way. The " Fashoda affair " made English 
and French still more bitter enemies — a fact emphasized by 
outspoken French sympathy with the Boers in their war with 
England two years later. Englishmen were insulted in France, 
and both nations talked of each other as " hereditary enemies." 

This was all changed, however, inside of four years. King 
Edward VII, who had succeeded to the throne of England upon 
the death of his mother, Victoria, in 1901, was personally fond 
of France — and the French, of him. Skillful statesmen made 
the most of the new situation, and in 1904 France and England 
came to a " cordial understanding " — or, to use the French 
phrase, e?itente cordiale — concerning all their outstanding sources 
of quarrel. This Entente, as it is generally called, has turned 
out to be one of the most important facts in the world's 

1 See above, p. 722. 



Origin of the War of IQI/f 735 

history. France was to recognize British interests in Egypt, and France to 
England those of France in Morocco — which country France i^d irf 6 
had begun to penetrate from the Algerian border. 1 The Entente Morocco 
was hailed with great delight upon both sides; Englishmen 
cheered French marines marching on a friendly visit through 
London streets, and Frenchmen began to admire traits of char- 
acter in the Anglo-Saxon which they had not appreciated before. 

England's isolation had been ended even before the entente Alliance of 
with France, by an alliance with Japan in 1902. 2 Then, when ancfjapan 
after the Russo-Japanese War the Japanese and Russians decided 
instead of fighting over Manchuria to join together and help each 
other " penetrate " it, and so became friends, England too made 
terms with Russia. This seemed almost incredible, for England 
had long been suspicious of Russian designs upon India, where 
it had detected Russian agents causing border uprisings. More- 
over, the English bitterly hated Russian tyranny, and London 
was a place of refuge for Russian revolutionists. The incredi- Entente 
ble happened, however. In 1907 England and. Russia settled 
their Asian boundary disputes by agreeing to limit their ambitions 
in Persia. 3 

In addition to its alliance with Japan and its entente with The small 
France and Russia, England had as friends Denmark — resent- 
ful of Germany since the war with it — and Portugal, 4 while 
English princesses became queens of Norway and Spain. 

1 In addition fishery troubles off the coast of Newfoundland were adjusted. 

2 According to this alliance England was to support Japan if attacked by a 
third power. The alliance was, therefore, strictly limited, but was strengthened 
in 1905, after the Russo-Japanese War, to be a mutually defensive alliance to 
safeguard the integrity of eastern Asia and India. 

3 See map, p. 706. Britain was to have as its " sphere of influence " a south- 
ern zone, Russia a northern, and neither was to interfere in the center. This 
left autonomous Persia itself only the central strip. There was much protest 
both in England and America over the cruel way in which the Russians treated 
the natives, but Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign minister, refused to inter- 
fere, since the only way to keep the Russians out of the boundary he had taken 
was for the English to stay out of Russian Persia. 

4 Its tyrannical king, Carlos I, and the crown prince were murdered in Lisbon 
in 1908, and Portugal became a republic, but this has not altered its foreign 
policy. 



states 



736 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Germany 
suspicious of 
the ententes 



Germany op- 
poses France 
in Morocco 



Algeciras 

Conference, 

1905 



The Agadir 
incident, 191 1 



Europe on 
the brink 
of war 



One great power had been rather noticeably left out of this 
circle of friends — Germany. Although the Kaiser, William II, 
was the nephew of King Edward VII, 1 the two monarch s were 
personally never on cordial terms, and the two nations, rivals in 
wealth and power, distrusted each other also. The Germans 
thought that the group of alliances and ententes which Edward 
had encouraged was formed' with designs hostile to the Triple 
Alliance of the central powers, — Germany, Austria, and Italy, — 
and resolved if possible to break them up. 2 

In 1905, therefore, Germany supported by Austria objected 
to the agreement between England and France by which the 
latter was to have a free hand in Morocco. Germany claimed 
to have interests there too. France, threatened thus, agreed to 
a conference at Algeciras (Spain) of all the great powers, the 
United States included. This congress gave France police power 
in Morocco but guaranteed the latter's independence. Exercis- 
ing this police power to put down disturbances in the country, 
France in the next five years had left little of the " independ- 
ence" guaranteed Morocco, so in 1911 Germany sent a cruiser 
to Agadir, on the coast of Morocco, as a warning to the French 
to stop. War was very narrowly averted. France gave up 
some of its possessions on the Congo to Germany in order to 
be allowed to continue its occupation of Morocco. 

The Agadir incident alarmed statesmen in England as well. 
Every one saw how near Europe had come to the brink of war. 
Imperialists in Germany said the Agadir incident had been a 
failure for Germany, since France was left in possession of 
Morocco, and they demanded stronger action in future. Im- 
perialists in France and England were angered at the bold way 
Germany had apparently tried to humble them before the world 
and were bitter that Germany got any satisfaction at all. The 
result was that all nations redoubled their warlike preparations. 



1 Edward died in 1910 and was succeeded by George V. 

2 On the other hand, the royal houses of Sweden, Roumania, Greece, and 
Bulgaria were closely connected with the Hohenzollems. 



Origin of the War of 1914 72>7 

The Near-Eastern Question 

156. Although war between Germany and England and 
France over the occupation of Morocco was avoided in 1 9 1 1 , 
another great danger appeared in the strained relations between 
Austria and Russia. The wars in the Balkan region described 
in a previous chapter (section 146) had revived old rivalries 
between these two great powers and speedily precipitated a 
general European conflict. In order to understand the situa- 
tion we must first briefly review the history of Austria since 
she was defeated by Prussia in 1866 (see above, pp. 617-618). 
It will be remembered that Bismarck excluded her from his 
new North German Confederation and left her to arrange her 
affairs as best she could. 

The Hapsburg dynasty with its capital " at Vienna ruled The races of 
over a great number of countries and provinces which it had dominions"^ 
brought together since the days of Rudolph of Hapsburg 
in the thirteenth century. One of its greatest difficulties has 
been to reconcile the interests of the German population in 
Austria proper (and the regions to the west) with those of the 
Hungarians on the one hand and of the various Slavic peoples 
— such as the Bohemians, Poles, and Croats — on the other. 
It will be recollected that this difficulty had caused revolts in 
1848 which led to civil war, in which both the Bohemians and 
the Hungarians were defeated (see above, p. 602). In 1867, Formation 
the year after the unsuccessful war with Prussia, an arrange- Hungary*" 
ment was made between Austria and Hungary which divided 
the Hapsburg empire into two practically independent parts. 
The western provinces, together with Galicia and Dalmatia form- 
ing the Austrian Empire (the regions colored red on the map), 
were to have their government carried on in Vienna ; the south- 
eastern portion, consisting of the kingdom of Hungary and 
some outlying provinces (colored green on the map), was to 
have its capital in Budapest. The emperor of Austria was also 
king of Hungary, but there were to be two parliaments - — one 



738 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Discontent 
of the Slavs 
in Austria- 
Hungary 



The " South 
Slav " neigh- 
bors of 
Austria 
aided by 
Russia 



Austria 
checks 
Russia 



meeting in Vienna, the other in Budapest. In this way a fed- 
eration of two states was created — the so-called dual mon- 
archy of Austria-Hungary. The common interests of these 
two states in matters of tariff, negotiations with foreign na- 
tions, and military arrangements are in the hands of a curi- 
ous sort of joint house, known as the "Delegations." 1 Even 
this arrangement was made only for a few years at a time. 
For the great feudal lords of Hungary — a proud, unyielding- 
nobility — have seen in Austria's necessity their opportunity, 
and they have not only gained their own independence but 
have generally aimed to control as well the policy of the dual 
monarchy. 

The Slavic subjects of the Hapsburgs have bitterly resented 
this arrangement, which has kept them in an inferior political 
position. 2 Moreover, since these Czechs, Croats, Ruthenians, 
and Slovenians cannot understand one another's language, it 
has been a favorite policy for the government to play one over 
against another, or, as the phrase goes, " divide and rule." 
The result has been great racial bitterness. 

This difficult situation at home was made still more difficult 
by the fact that these " South Slav " peoples extended outside 
the borders of Austria-Hungary as well, forming the majority 
of the population of the whole Balkan region. With the decline 
of the Turkish Empire, Russia came forward as the rightful 
protector of these Balkan peoples, and so she naturally came 
into conflict with the policies of Austria-Hungary. This was 
especially clear in 1878 when Austria, supported by England 
and Germany, checked victorious Russia by the Congress 
of Berlin. 3 



1 The three ministers of finance, war, and foreign affairs are responsible 
to the Delegations, which sit as separate bodies of sixty members each, one 
debating in German, the other in Hungarian, and ordinarily communicate with 
each other in writing. If they disagree, they may meet together and vote, but 
without debate. 

2 With the exception of the Poles of Galicia, who have been much favored 
by the Austrians and therefore support them against the Magyars. 

3 See above, page 695. 




739 



740 



Medieval and Modern Times 



As a result of that congress Austria was allowed to 
occupy the Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
Austria governed these provinces well for the next thirty years, 
while the rest of Turkey continued to suffer from misrule. 
When the Turkish revolution took place in 1908, however, and 




- 5 m 



mmm 













HS^S^S*. ■■MlluJr 






•;^"" , ?i .2^, 



Fig. 194. General View of Bagdad 

The old city of the caliphs and the stories of the Arabian Nights is again 
an important prize, contended for by Germany, England, and Russia. For 
the oriental trade will come through it again when the railroad is completed 



there seemed to be some chance of a new and strong Turkey, 
Austria determined to prevent Bosnia and Herzegovina from 
ever entering into it, and so boldly annexed them to the Austro- 
Hungarian Empire. The little neighboring state of Serbia was 
alarmed and indignant at this, since the annexed provinces 
were peopled with Slavs, 1 and the Serbians had cherished the 
ambition of uniting with them and the Montenegrins in a new 

1 They are mainly Croats, professing the Catholic religion, while the Serbs 
are of the Orthodox Greek Church, but they have common traditions. 



Origin of the War of 1 914 74 1 

south Slavonic state which would reach from the Danube to 
the Adriatic. Russia also was angered, but when Germany, 
Austria's ally, declared that it would support Austria, in arms 
if need be, Russia, which had not yet recovered from the war 
with Japan and its own revolutions, was obliged to submit to 
the humiliation, as she viewed it, of being unable to protect 
those of her own race in the Balkans. 

For Serbia, indeed, the annexation was a serious blow. It Serbia, victor 
was now apparently shut in from the sea for all time to come, ^ars* is" 1 
and so would be dependent for a market for its farm products thw . a rted 

r r again by 

upon its enemy across the Danube, Austria-Hungary. This Austria 
would reduce it to the condition of a weak and somewhat 
dependent state, which was what Austria wanted. 

In the wars of 191 2-19 13, 1 however, Serbia burst its bound- Serbia's gains 
aries upon the south and all but reached the Adriatic through wars 6 
Albania. Again Austria interfered, and had an independent 
prince set up in Albania to shut Serbia in. The Serbians felt 
that their victories were rendered almost vain by their' powerful 
but jealous neighbor, and bitter hatred resulted. 

Although Serbia did not get all it wanted from the wars of The strength 
1912-1913, it made enormous gains, while Turkey, the friend « south 
of Germany, 2 and Bulgaria, the friend of Austria, were the slavs " 
two vanquished powers. Germany and Austria, therefore, saw Austria; 
visions of a Slavic advance into Turkey once more, as in 1877. and "Pan- 
The fear of " Pan-Slavism," or a racial union of the Slavs, led Germanism " 
to a rival movement of " Pan-Germanism." 

Germany, therefore, in 19 13, voted a great sum of money The German 
(over $250,000,000) to increase its standing army, so that even o™oi 3 U gCt 
in time of peace it should consist of about 700,000 men, while 
in war almost 10,000,000 men could be called out. Even the 

1 See above, p. 700. 

2 Germany had succeeded in obtaining from Turkey a " concession " to build 
a railroad to Bagdad and the Persian Gulf. This Berlin to Bagdad railway had 
been long opposed by England and France ; now it seemed to be imperiled by 
the collapse of Turkey and the fact that Serbia, through which the railroad ran, 
was so much stronger than previously. 



742 



Medieval and Modem Times 



France, socialists voted for this " measure of defense." Then it was 

repiyf ?n-° tne turn oi France to be alarmed, since the new army of Ger- 
creasesarmy man y was to be very much stronger than that of the French. 
Russia Because France had fewer men to call upon, it made the length 

of active service three years instead of two as had been the re- 
quirement for some time. 1 This law was much opposed by social- 
ists and pacifists and had not got fully into operation before the 
war came. France also loaned Russia a great sum of money to 
help build railways, which would be of as much use to it in war 
as in peace. But this was not accomplished before the war. In 
short, of the three powers, Germany was in the lead in the hur- 
ried preparation of arms and armies in the summer of 1 9 1 4. 2 



The murder 
of the Aus- 
trian arch- 
duke, Francis 
Ferdinand, 
June 28, 1914 



The Outbreak of the War 

157. Meanwhile, friends of peace did not despair. Some 
English and German statesmen sought to end the misunder- 
standings between these two nations ; and they practically 
agreed upon a treaty which should accomplish this, although it 
was never signed. England agreed to let Germany develop its 
railroad to Bagdad and thus dispel the impression, common in 
Germany, that England was weaving these ententes to hem in 
Germany and prevent the expansion of its commerce. The 
way was therefore opening for Germany too to enter the great 
circle of ententes ; and in this way the peace of the world could, 
apparently, be secured for years, if not indeed forever. 

But on June 28, 19 14, an event happened which wrecked all 
these hopes. The Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne 
of Austria-Hungary, and his wife were murdered while upon 
a visit to Bosnia. The Serbian government had warned the 
archduke not to go there, because it feared that hot-headed 

1 See above, p. 636. 

2 The Kiel Canal was enlarged to permit the largest warships to pass between 
the Baltic and the North Sea. This was formally opened, June 24, 19 14. Ger- 
many's navy, which dates from 1897, was thus doubly valuable. England, mean- 
while, had been building more and bigger ships to try to keep ahead of its rival. 



Origin of the War of 1914 






43 



pro-Serbian conspirators might attempt an assassination. Austria 
nevertheless asserted that Serbia had favored such conspiracies 
and was therefore responsible for the assassination. It allowed a 
month to pass, however, before making protest. Then, on July 23, 
it sent to Serbia not a protest but an ultimatum. It gave Serbia 




Fig. 195. The Murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand; 
Arrest of the Assassin 

The murder took place in the streets of Serajevo, the capital of Bosnia 

forty-eight hours in which to agree to suppress anti-Austrian 
propaganda in press, schools, or by societies, to dismiss from 
the army or civil office any one obnoxious to Austria, and to 
allow Austrian officials to sit in Serbian courts in order to bring 
the guilty to justice. Serbia agreed to all these humiliating 
conditions except the last, and offered to refer even it to the 
Hague Tribunal. This Austria refused to do, and this decision 
involving war with Serbia was cheered in Vienna. 



The Austrian 
ultimatum 
to Serbia, 
July 23 



744 



Medieval and Modem Times 



The war It is doubtful if there had ever been so fateful a week for the 

history of mankind as this last week of July, 19 14. Although 
Germany sought to " localize the conflict " between Austria and 
Serbia, it was clear from the first that Russia would not stand 
by while Serbia was crushed, and that if Russia went to war 
with Austria to help Serbia, then Germany would attack Russia ; 
while France, Russia's ally, must fight too. Earnest efforts were 




Fig. 196. The Palace of Justice, Brussels 



made to avert the catastrophe, but in vain. On the first of 
August the Great European War began. 

England had not committed itself so long as the issue was 
merely over Serbia, and Russia and France were nervously 
anxious for fear its friendship for them would fail in the crisis. 
Sir Edward Grey, the English Foreign Minister, refused to com- 
mit himself until Germany, in the effort to strike quickly at 
France, invaded Belgium. Then England too declared war 
(August 4) on Germany. 1 

1 It is probable that England would in any case have joined France and 
Russia in the war, since she had pledged herself to protect the northern French 
coast and could not have stood by while Germany conquered France and got 
control of the Dover Strait. 



Origin of the War of IC/14 745 

QUESTIONS 

Section 153. Sketch the history of the Prussian army system. 
Review from the previous chapter the policy of Bismarck with refer- 
ence to the army. What advantage has America had over Europe, 
owing to European militarism ? How strong does England keep her 
fleet? Discuss the naval policy of Germany. 

Section i 54. Why did the Tsar call a peace conference ? What 
resulted from the first Hague Conference ? from the second ? What 
movements are there making for peace ? Why are socialists generally 
pacifists ? 

Section 155. Review the story of the partition of Africa. How 
has this bred international rivalries ? What was the significance of 
the " Fashoda affair"? What change did Edward VII make in the 
foreign affairs of England ? What countries were friendly to England 
in 1 9 14? Sketch the history of the Triple Alliance. Trace the 
history of the Morocco affair. 

Section 156. What interests has Russia in the Balkans? What 
interests has Austria there ? Describe the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 
Sketch the history of Serbia in the twentieth century. How did the 
Balkan wars of 1912-1913 affect Germany, France, and Russia? 

Section 157. Trace the events of the summer of 1914. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

It is not the aim of this bibliography to mention all of even the im- 
portant books in various languages that relate to the period in question. 
The writer is well aware that teachers are busy people and that high- 
school libraries and local public libraries usually furnish at best only a 
few historical works. It is therefore most important that those books 
should be given prominence in this list which the teacher has some 
chance of procuring and finding the time to use. It not infrequently 
happens that the best account of a particular period or topic is in a for- 
eign language or in a rare publication, such as a doctor's dissertation, 
which could only be found in one of our largest libraries. All such titles, 
however valuable, are omitted from this list. They can be found men- 
tioned in all the more scholarly works in the various fields. 

CHAPTER I 

For a general sketch of ancient history the student may be referred A. General 
to the first eleven chapters of Robinson and Breasted, Outlines readin S 
of European History, Part I. Other textbooks on ancient history are 
Botsford, Ancient History, or his more detailed History of Greece and 
History of Rome. West, Ancient History to the Death of Charlemagne ; 
Pelham, Outlines of Roman History ; and Myers, Rome : its Rise and 
Fall. There are good bibliographies in these books, with references to 
larger histories. The best work in English on the conditions in the 
Empire upon the eve of the invasions is Dill, Roman Society in the 
Last Century of the Western Empire. Every historical student should 
gain some acquaintance with the celebrated historian Gibbon. Al- 
though his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was written about a 
century and a half ago, it is still of great interest and importance and 
is incomparable in its style. The best edition is published by The 
Macmillan Company, with corrections and additions by a competent 
modern historian, J. B. Bury. The Cambridge Mediceval History, by 
various writers, now in course of publication, devotes its first volume 
to the period in question. Bury, Later Roman Empire, is especially 
good for the history of the eastern part of the Empire. Hodgkin, 

747 



; 4 8 



Medieval and Modern Times 



B. The 
Roman 
Empire 



C. Christian- 
ity and the 
Church 



D. Source 
material 

Readings in 

European 

History 



E. Historical 
atlases 



A. General 
reading 



Italy and her Invaders, an extensive work in eight volumes, has descrip- 
tive sections based on source material. His two small works, the Dynasty 
of Theodosius and Theodoric the Goth, are very readable but somewhat 
exaggerate the invasions. Cunningham, Western Civilization in its 
Economic Aspects, is a suggestive survey, less popular but more general 
than Davis, Influence of Wealth on Imperial Rome, which is a brilliant 
but somewhat overdrawn account of the economic situation in the Empire. 

Glover, Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire, is a valu- 
able book on the conditions under which Christianity arose. For the 
history of the Church, Newman, Manual of Church History, is a clear 
account. Of more elaborate works, Schaff, History of the Christian 
Church, or Moeller, Church History, may be recommended. 

The textbook and the collateral reading should always be supple- 
mented by examples of contemporaneous materials. Robinson, Read- 
ings in European History, Vol. I (from the barbarian invasions to the 
opening of the sixteenth century) and Vol. II (from the opening of the 
sixteenth century to the present day), arranged to accompany chapter 
by chapter the author's Introduction to the History of Western Europe, 
will be found especially useful in furnishing extracts which reenforce 
the narrative, together with extensive bibliographies and topical refer- 
ences. This compilation will be referred to hereafter simply as Readings. 
There is also an abridged edition in one volume. In addition the fol- 
lowing may be mentioned : Thatcher and McNeal, A Source Book for 
Mediaeval History; Ogg, A Source Book of Mediaeval History, and the 
series of Translations and Reprints of the University of Pennsylvania. 
The Columbia University Press is now bringing out a new series of 
source material, Records of Civilization , edited by J. T. Shotwell, 
which aims to give many important documents of history in full in 
English translation. Its volumes on Hellenic Civilization and The Rise 
of Christianity should be noted here. 

Constant use should be made of good historical atlases. By far the 
best and most convenient for the high school is Shepherd, William 
R., Historical Atlas, 191 1 (see maps 43, 45, 48, 50-52). Dow, Earle E., 
Atlas of European History, 1907, also furnishes clear maps of the 
chief changes. 

CHAPTER II 

The best short account of the barbarian invasions is Emerton, 
Introduction to the Middle Ages, chaps, i-vii. Oman, The Dark Ages, 
gives a somewhat fuller narrative of the events. Adams, G. B., Civili- 
zation during the Middle Ages, chaps, i, ii, iv, and v, discusses the 
general conditions and results. 



Bibliography 



749 



For extracts relating to the barbarian invasions, see Readings, Vol. I, 
pp. 28-55. O gg > A Source Book of Medieval History, chaps, i-iv. Much 
more extensive are the extracts given in Hayes, C. H., An Introduction 
to the Sources relating to the Germanic Invasions, 1909 (Columbia Uni- 
versity Studies in History, Economics, and Public Law, Vol. XXXIII, 
No. III). There is a translation of Gregory of Tours' History of the 
Franks, by Brehaut, in the series, Records of Civilization. 



B. Source 
material 



CHAPTER III 

There are no very satisfactory short accounts of the development of 
the papacy. One must turn to the church histories, which are written 
by either Catholics or Protestants and so differ a good deal in their in- 
terpretation of events. One may refer to Fisher,. History of the Chris- 
tian Church (Protestant), or Alzog, Manual of Universal Church 
History (Catholic). Milman, History of Latin Ch?'istianity, although 
old, is scholarly and readable and to be found in many good libraries. 
Cambridge Mediceval History, Vol. I, chaps, iv, vi. Newman, Manual 
of Church History, Vol. I (Protestant). 

Readings, Vol. I, pp. 14-27 and chap. iv. By far the best collection 
of illustrative sources is to be found in Ayer, J. C, A Source Book of 
Ancient Church History, 191 3. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



CHAPTER IV 

The church histories referred to above all have something to say of 
the monks. There is an excellent chapter on monasticism in Taylor, 
Henry O., Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages, chap. vii. See also a 
little book by the famous church historian Harnack, Monasticism. 

Readings, chap. v. There is a Life of St. Columban, written by one of 
his companions, which, although short and simple in the extreme, fur- 
nishes a better idea of the Christian spirit of the sixth century than the 
longest treatise by a modern writer. This life may be found in Transla- 
tions and Reprints, Vol. II, No. 7, translated by Professor Munro. The 
chief portions of the Benedictine Rule may be found in Henderson, 
E. F., Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages, pp. 74 ff., and in 
Thatcher and McNeal, A Source Book for Mediceval History, pp. 432 ff. 
See map, pp. 46-47, in Shepherd, Historical Atlas, showing spread of 
Christianity in Europe. 

Cambridge Mediceval History, Vol. II, chap. xvi. The most complete 
history of the monks is by the French writer Montalembert, The 
Monks of the West from St. Benedict to St. Bernard, which has been 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



75o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



D. Moham- 
med and his 
followers 



E. Source 
material 



F. Additional 
reading 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 

C. Additional 
reading 



translated into English (6 vols.). The writer's enthusiasm and excellent 
style make the work very attractive. 

For Mohammed and the Saracens, Thatcher and Schwill, Europe 
in the Middle Age, chap. xv. Gilman, The Saracens. Gibbon has a 
famous chapter on Mohammed and another on the conquests of the 
Arabs. These are the fiftieth and fifty-first of his great work. Cambridge 
Mediceval History, Vol. II, chaps, x-xii. 

It is not hard to find a copy of one of the English translations of the 
Koran. See brief extracts in Readings and in Ogg, A Source Book of 
Mediceval History, pp. 97 ff. Lane-Poole, Stanley, Speeches and 
Table Talk of Mohammed, is very interesting. 

Muir, Life of Mohammed. Ameer Ali, The Life and Teachings of 
Mohammed, a Short History of the Saracens, by one who sympathizes 
with them. 

CHAPTER V 

Emerton, Lntroduction to the Middle Ages, chaps, xii-xiv. Bryce, 
Holy Roman Empire, chaps, iv-v. Henderson, History of Germany in 
the Middle Ages, chaps, iv-v. Oman, The Dark Ages, chaps, xix-xxii. 

Readings, pp. 120-125 and chap. vii. Duncalf and Krey, Parallel 
Source Problems in Mediceval History, pp. 3-26. 

Hodgkin, Charles the Great, a small volume. Mombert, A History 
of Charles the Great, the most extensive treatment in English. Cambridge 
Mediceval History, Vol. II, chaps, xviii-xix. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER VI 

Emerton, Introduction to the Middle Ages, chap. xv. Oman, The 
Dark Ages, chaps, xxiii-xxv. Emerton, Mediceval Europe, chap. xiv. 
Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, chap. ix. 

Readings, chaps, viii-ix. Ogg, A Source Book of Mediceval History, 
chap. x. Thatcher and McNeal, A Source Book for Mediceval History, 
pp. 341-417. 

Seignobos, Feudal Regime (excellent). See " Feudalism," in Encyclo- 
pcedia Britannica, 1 1 th ed. Ingram, History of Slavery and Serfdom, espe- 
cially chaps, iv-v. Cheyney, Industrial and Social History of England. 



A. General 
reading 



CHAPTER VII 

There are a number of convenient general histories of England during 
the Middle Ages which can be used to supplement the short account 
here given : Cheyney, Short History of England; Green, Short History 
of the English People; Cross, A. L., A History of England and Greater 



Bibliography 



751 



B. Source 
material 



Britain, chaps, iv-xviii; Andrews, Charles M., History of England; 
Terry, History of England; and a number of others. For France, 
Adams, G. B., Growth of the French Nation ; Durtjy, History of France. 

Readings, chaps, xi, xx. There are several source books of English 
history : Cheyney, Readings in English History, chaps, iv-xii ; Colby, 
Selections from the Sources of English History ; Lee, Source-Book of 
English History, Kendall, Source Book of English History. 

There is, of course, a great deal more available in English relating to C. Additional 
English history than to the history of the continental countries. One readm S 
will find plenty of references to the more extensive works in any of 
the books mentioned above. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Emerton, Mediceval Europe, chaps, iii-x. Henderson, E. F., History A. General 
of Germany in the Middle Ages. A clear and scholarly account of the reading 
whole period. 

Readings, Vol. I, chaps, xii-xiv. Duncalf and Krey, Parallel Source B. Source 
Problems in Mediceval History, Problem II (Canossa). Thatcher and material 
McNeal, A Source Book for Mediceval History, Section III, pp. 132-259. 

Tout, The Empire and the Papacy, with chief attention to the C. Additional 
strictly political history. Bryce, Holy Roman Empire, chaps, viii-xi. readin g 
Excellent maps for the period will be found in Shepherd, Historical 
Atlas. 



CHAPTER IX 

Emerton, Mediceval Europe, chap. xi. Tout, The Empire and the A. General 
Papacy, chaps, vii, viii, xiii, xiv, xix. Adams, Civilization during the readin S 
Middle Ages, chap, xi, for discussion of general results. 

Readings, chap. xv. Thatcher and McNeal, A Source Book for B. Source 
Mediceval History, Section IX, pp. 510-544. Translations and Reprints matenal 
published by the Department of History of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, Vol.- 1, Nos. 2, 4, and Vol. Ill, No. 1. 

Archer and Kingsford, The Crusades. Gibbon, Decline and Fall C. Additional 
of the Roman Empire, chaps, lviii-lix. See " Crusades," in Encyclo- r a m ^ 
pcedia Britannica, nth ed. 



CHAPTER X 

The available material on this important subject is rather scattered. 
The author gives a somewhat fuller account of the Church in his 
Western Etirop'e, chaps, xvi, xvii, xxi. See good chapter in Emerton, 
Medieval Europe, chap. xvi. Special topics can be looked up in the 



A. General 
reading 



752 



Medieval and Modern Times 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



Encyclopedia Britannica, the Catholic Encyclopedia, or any other good 
encyclopedia. 

Readings, Vol. I, chaps, xvi, xvii, xxi. Thatcher and McNeal, 
A Source Book for Medieval Histoiy, contains many important docu- 
ments relating to the Church. 

Cutts, Parish Priests and their People. The opening chapter of Lea, 
A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, gives a remarkable 
account of the medieval Church and the abuses which prevailed. The 
first volume also contains chapters upon the origin of both the Francis- 
can and Dominican orders. For St. Francis the best work is Sabatier, 
St. Francis of Assisi. See also Gasquet, English Monastic Life; Jes- 
sopp, The Coming of the Friars, and Other Historic Essays; Creighton, 
History of the Papacy, introductory chapter. 



A. General 

reading 



B. Source 
material 



CHAPTER XI 

Emerton, Medieval Europe, chap. xv. Historians are so accustomed 
to deal almost exclusively with political events that one looks to them 
in vain for much information in regard to town life in the Middle Ages 
and is forced to turn to special works : GiBBlNS, History of Commerce, 
best short account with good maps; Cunningham, Western Ctvilization 
in its Economic Aspects, Vol. II ; Cheyney, Industrial and Social His- 
tory of England; Gibbins, Industrial History of England; Day, C, 
History of Commerce; Luchaire, Social Life in the Time of Philip 
Augustus. SYMONDS, Age of Despots, gives a charming account of 
town life in Italy in its more picturesque aspects. Hamlin, History of 
Architecture, good introduction. Good account of early discoveries in 
Cambridge Modern History, Vol. I, chaps, i-ii. 

Readings, Vol. I, chap, xviii. Ogg±A Source Booh of Medieval History, 
chap. xx. That cher and M cNeal, A Source Book for Medieval His- 
tory. Section X, pp. 545-612, gives many interesting documents. Marco 
Polo's account of his travels is easily had in English. The best edition 
of Travels of Sir John Mandeville is that published by The .Macmillan 
Company, because it contains the accounts on which the anonymous 
writer of the travels depended for his information. 



A. General 
reading 

B. Source 
material 



CHAPTER XII 

Emerton, Medieval Europe, chap. xiii. Rashdall, History of the 
Universities in the Middle Ages, introductory chapters. 

Readings, Vol. I, chap. xix. Steele, Medieval Lore, extracts from an 
encyclopedia of the thirteenth century. The Song of Roland is trans- 
lated into spirited English verse by O'Hagan. The reader will find a 



Bibliography 



753 



beautiful example of a French romance of the twelfth century in an 
English translation of Aucassin and Nicolette. Mr. Steele gives charm- 
ing stories of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Huon of Bordeaux, 
Renaud of Montauban, and The Story of Alexander. Malory, Mort 
d 1 Arthur, a collection of the stories of the Round Table made in the 
fifteenth century for English readers, is the best place to turn for these 
famous stories. Robinson and Rolfe, Petrarch (new enlarged edition, 
1914), a collection of his most interesting letters. Whitcomb, Literary 
Source Book of the Italian Renaissance. Coulter, Medieval Garner, 
a collection of selections from the literary sources. 

Saintsbury, Flourishing of Romance, a good introduction to medieval 
literature. Walsh, The Thirteenth, the Greatest of Centuries (rather too 
enthusiastic in its claims). Smith, Justin H., The Troubadours at Home. 
Cornish, Chivalry. DeVinne, Invention of Printing. Putnam, Books 
and their Makers during the Middle Ages. Burckhardt, The Civiliza- 
tion of the Renaissance in Italy. Van Dyck, The History of Painting. 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XIII 

Johnson, Europe in the Sixteenth Century, chaps, i-ii. Cambridge 
Modern History, Vol. I, chaps, iv, xi. See " Charles V," in Encyclopedia 
Britannioa. Duruy, History of France, Ninth and Tenth Periods. 

Readings, Vol. II, chap, xxiii. 

Cambridge Modern History, Vol. II, chap. ii. Dyer and Hassall, 
Modern Europe (a political history of Europe in 6 vols.), Vol. I. reading 
Creighton, History of the Papacy. Pastor, History of the Popes, 
Vol. V. Bryce, Holy Roman Empire, chap. xiv. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 

C. Additional 



CHAPTER XIV 

See fuller account in Robinson, History of Western Europe, chaps. 
xxi, xxiv-xxvi. Henderson, E. F., Short History of Germany. John- 
son, Europe in the Sixteenth Century, chaps, iii-v. Lindsay, History of 
the Reformation^ o\. I. See " Reformation," in Encyclopedia Britannica, 
nth ed. 

Readings, Vol. I, chap, xxi, and Vol. II, chaps, xxiv-xxvi. Wace and 
Buchheim (Editors), Luther^s Primary Works and The Atcgsburg 
Confession. Whitcomb, Source Book of the German Renaissance. 

McGiffert, Martin Luther. Beard, Martin Luther, especially in- 
troductory chapters on general conditions. Creighton, History of the rea( hng 
Papacy, Vol. VI. Cambridge Modern History, Vol. I, chaps, ix, xix, 
and Vol. II, chaps, iv-viii. Janssen, History of the German People, 
Vols. I-II, Emerton, Desiderius Erasmus, very interesting. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 



754 



Medieval and Modern Times 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XV 

Johnson, Europe in the Sixteenth Century, pp. 272 ff. See " Zwingli " 
and " Calvin," in Encyclopedia Britannica. Chapters on the changes 
under Henry VIII and Edward VI will be found in all general histories of 
England; for example, Cheyney, Short History of England, chap, xii ; 
Cross, A History of England, chaps, xx-xxii; Green, Short History of 
the English People, chaps, vi-vii. 

Readings, chap, xxvii. Gee and Hardy, Documents Illustrative of 
English Church History, pp. 145 ff., very useful and full. Cheyney, 
Readings in English History, chap. xir. 

Cambridge Modem History, Vol. II, chaps, x-xi, xiii-xv. Jackson, 
S. M., Huldreich Zwingli. Lindsay, History of the Reformation, Vol. II, 
Bk. Ill, chaps, i-iii, and Bk. IV. Gasquet, The Eve of the Reformation. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 

C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XVI 

Johnson, Europe in the Sixteenth Century, chaps, vii-ix. Wakeman, 
European History, ij<p8-iy/j, chaps, i-v. The portion of the chapter 
dealing with English affairs can be readily supplemented by means of the 
general histories of England, Cheyney, Cross, Green, Andrews, etc. 

Readings, Vol. II, chaps, xxviii, xix. Cheyney, Readings in English 
History, chap. xiii. 

Cambridge Modem History, Vol. II, chaps, ix, xvi, xviii-xix; Vol. Ill, 
chaps, i, vi-x, xv, xx; Vol. IV, chaps, i, iii-vi, xiii-xiv. Lindsay, 
History of the Reformation, Vol. II, Bk. Ill, chaps, iv-v and Bk. VI. 
Putnam, Ruth, William the Silent. Payne, Voyages of Elizabethan 
Seamen to America, Vol. I. Motley, Rise of the Dutch Republic. 
GlNDELY, History of the Thirty Years' War. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XVII 

Cheyney, Short History of England, chaps, xiv-xvi. Cross, A His- 
tory of England, chaps, xxvii-xxxv. Green, Short History of the English 
People, chaps, viii-ix. 

Readings, chap. xxx. Cheyney, Readings in English History, chaps, 
xiv-xvi. Lee, Source Book of English History, Pt. VI ; Colby, Selections 
from the Sources of English History, Pt. VI, the Stuart Period. Gee and 
Hardy, Documents Illustrative of English Church History, pp. 508-664. 

Cambridge Modem History, Vol. Ill, chap, xvii; Vol. IV, chaps, 
viii-xi, xv, xix ; Vol. V, chaps, v, ix-xi. Morley, Oliver Cromwell. 
Macau lay, Essay on Milton. Gardiner, The First Two Stuarts and 
the Puritan Revolution. 



Bibliography 755 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Cambridge Modern History, Vol. V, chaps, i-ii, xiii-xiv. Wakeman, A. General 
Europe from i^g8 to 1715, chaps, ix-xi, xiv-xv. Duruy, History of rea dmg 
France, Thirteenth Period. Adams, Growth of the French Nation. 

Readings, Vol. II, chap. xxxi. Memoirs of the period are often obtain- B. Source 
able in translation at reasonable prices. The greatest of these, those of matenal 
Saint Simon, are condensed to a three-volume English edition. 

Perkins, France tinder the Regency, one of several valuable books C. Additional 
by this author. Taine, The Ancient Regime, a brilliant picture of life rea ms 
in France in the eighteenth century. Lowell's Eve of the French 
Revolution is also general ; it is less picturesque but gives a fairer idea 
of conditions. 

CHAPTER XIX 

Cambridge Modern History, Vol. V, chaps, xvi, xx-xxi; Vol. VI, chap. A. General 
xx. Henderson, A Short History of Germany, Vol. I, pp. 148-218. rea lng 
Rambaud, History of Russia, Vols. I -II, the best treatment of Russia. 
Schwill, Modem Europe, pp. 215-247, good outline. Tuttle, History 
of Prussia, 4 vols. 

ROBINSON, Readings in European History, Vol. II, chap, xxxii. B. Source 
Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modem European History, Vol. I, matenal 
chap. iv. 

Bright, Maria Theresa. Carlyle, Frederick the Great, a classic. C. Additional 
Eversley, The Partitions of Poland. Phillips, History of Poland, readm S 
good short account in Home University Library. Hassall, European His- 
tory, jy^y-iySg. Kluchevsky, A History of Rtissia, 3 vols. Schevill, 
The Making of Modern Germany. Schuyler, Peter the Great, standard 
English biography. Waliszewski, Life of Peter the Great. 

CHAPTER XX 

Robinson and Beard, Development of Modem Europe, Vol. I, chaps. A. General 
vi-vii. Cambridge Modem History, Vol. V, chap, xxii ; Vol. VI, chaps. readm S 
vi, xv. Cross, A Histoiy of England and Greater Britain, chap, xli, 
detailed manual. Egerton, A Short History of British Colonial Policy, 
best treatment. Cheyney, A Short History of England, chap. xvii. 
Gibbins, History of Commerce in Europe. Lyall, The Rise of British 
Do?ninion in India. Pollard, Factors in Modem History, chap, x, a 
most suggestive treatment of the rise of nationalism in modern Eng- 
land. Woodward, A Short History of the Expansion of the British 
Empire, best introduction. 



756 



Medieval mid Modern Times 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



Robinson, Readings in European History, Vol. II, chap, xxxiii. 
Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. I, 
chaps, vi-vii. Cheyney, Readings in English History, chaps, xiii, xvii. 
Muzzey, Readings in American History. Hart, American History told 
by Omtemporaries, Vol. I. 

Cheyney, European Background of American History, an excellent 
survey. Edgar, The Struggle for a Continent. Hunter, A Brief History 
of the Indian Peoples. Lucas, A Historical Geography of the British Colo- 
nies, 5 vols., the most extensive treatment. Macaulay, Essay on Clive. 
Mahan, The Influence of Sea- Power tipon History, 1660-1J83, a classic. 
Morris, A Histojy of Colonization, 2 vols. Parkman, A Half Century of 
Conflict, 2 vols. Seeley, The Expansion of England, a well-known gen- 
eral survey. Thwaites, The Colonies. Trail, Social England, Vol. V. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



A. General 
reading 



CHAPTER XXI 

Ashton, Social life in the Time of Queen Anne. Gibbins, Industry 
in England, chaps, xvii-xx. Lowell, The Eve of the French Revolution, 
sane and reliable. Prothero, English Farming, Past and Present, 
chaps, v-xi, excellent. Sydney, England and the English in the Eight- 
eenth Century, 2 vols., admirable. Henderson, Short History of Ger- 
many, chaps, iii-vii. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. I, 
chap. viii. Translations and Reprints, Vol. V, No. 2; Vol. VI, No. 1. 
Young, Arthur, Travels in France, 1787-1789, a first-hand source of 
great importance. 

Cunningham, Grcnvth of English Industry and Commerce, Modern 
Times, Part I, the standard manual of economic history ; conservative. 
De Tocqueville, The State of Society in France before the Revolution, a 
careful analysis of conditions. Lecky, A History of England in the 
Eighteenth Century, 8 vols., a work of high order. McGiffert, Protes- 
tant Thought before Kant, excellent for religious thought. Overton, 
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century. Taine, The Ancient 
Regime, a brilliant but somewhat overdone analysis of social conditions 
in France. 

CHAPTER XXII 

Bury, A History of the Freedom of Thought, chap, vi, admirable. 
Cambridge Modern History, Vol. V, chap, xxiii. Dunning, A History 
of Political Theories from luther to Montesquieu, chaps, x-xii, admirable 
summary of political doctrines to 1750. McGiffert, Protestant Thotcght 
before Kant, chap, x, splendid treatment of the religious aspects of 
rationalism. Marvin, The Living Past, chap, viii, a stimulating outline. 



Bibliography 



7S7 



Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. I, 
chap. ix. Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws (Nugent's translation). 
Rousseau, Discourses, Emile, and Social Contract (Everyman's Series). 
Smith, The Wealth of Nations. Stephens, The Life and Writings of 
Turgot. 

GiDE and Rist, A History of Economic Doctrines (Richards's trans- 
lation). Lecky, A Histoiy of the Rise and Influence of Rationalism in 
Etirope, a general survey. Morley, Critical Miscellanies, Rousseau, 
Voltaire, eloquent and stimulating essays. Perkins, France tinder 
Louis XV, Vol. II. Robertson, A Short History of the Freedom of 
Thought, 2 vols. An excellent summary of the history of the various 
sciences is to be found in The History of the Sciences Series published 
by Putnam. 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XXIII 



Lowell, The Eve of the French Revolution, the best treatment in 
English. Machlehose, The Last Days of the French Monarchy, excel- 
lent. Matthews, The French Revolution, the best short survey. 

Robinson, Readings in European History, Vol. II, chap, xxxiv. 
Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. I, 
chap. xi. Translations and Reprints, Vol. IV, No. 5, for " Cahiers " ; 
Vol. V, No. 2, for " Protest of the Cours des Aides of 1775 " ; Vol. VI, 
No. 1, for "Philosophers." Young, Arthur, Travels in France. 

Cambridge Modern History, Vol. VIII, chaps, ii-iv. De Tocqueville, 
The State of Society in France before the Revolution of ij8q. Rocquain, 
The Revolutionary Spirit before the Revolution. Taine, The Ancient 
Regime. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XXIV 

Robinson, The New History, chap. vii. Belloc, The French Revolu- 
tion (Home University Series), suggestive. Cambridge Modern History, 
Vol. VIII, especially chaps, i, hi, xii. Matthews, The French Revolu- 
tion. Rose, The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Period. Stephens, 
Europe 178Q-1815, excellent. Stephens, A History of the French Revo- 
lution, 2 vols., detailed treatment of the early years of the Revolution, 
replacing Carlyle and earlier literary historians. 

Robinson, Readings in Etcropean History, Vol. II, chaps, xxxv-xxxvi. 
Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. I, 
chaps, xii-xiii. Anderson, Constitutions and Other Select Documents 
Illustrative of the History of France, iy8g-igoy, a valuable collection 
for modern French history. Burke, Reflections on the French Revolution 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



758 



Medieval and Modern Times 



C. Additional 
reading 



(Everyman's), a bitter criticism of the whole movement. Gouverneur 
Morris, Diary and Letters, 2 vols., contains some vivid description by 
an American observer. Paine, The Rights of Man, an effective answer 
to Burke. 

Aulard, The French Revolution, 4 vols., a great political history. 
Belloc, Danton, Robespierre. Bourne, The Revolutionary Period in 
Europe, a recent manual. Taine, The French Revolution, 3 vols., 
brilliant but unsympathetic. Carlyle, French Revohttion, a literary 
masterpiece but written from insufficient materials. 



CHAPTER XXV 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



Cambridge Modern History, Vol. -IX. Fisher, Napoleon (Home Uni- 
versity Series). Fournier, Napoleon the First, excellent. Johnston, 
Napoleon, the best brief account in English. Rose, The Life of Napoleon 
the First, the most scholarly account in English. 

Robinson, Readings in European History, Vol. II, chaps, xxxvii- 
xxxviii. Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, 
Vol. I, chaps, xiv-xv. Anderson, Constitutions and Select Documents. 
Bingham, A Selection frotn the Letters and Despatches of the- First Na- 
poleon, 3 vols. Las Casses, The fournal of St. Helena. Lecestre, Neza 
Letters of Napoleon L. Memoirs of Botirrienne, Napoleon's private sec- 
retary, spiteful but spicy. Memoirs of Madame de Remusat. Memoirs 
of Miot de Melito. 

Bigelow, A History of the German Struggle for Liberty. Seeley, 
The Life and Times of Stein, an exhaustive study of Prussia under 
Stein. Sloane, Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, 4 vols., monumental, with 
very complete illustrations. Taine, The Modern Regime, 2 vols., keen 
analysis of Napoleon. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



A. General 

reading 



B. Source 
material 



Robinson and Beard, The Development of Modern Europe, Vol. I, 
chap, xvi ; Vol. II, chap. xvii. Cambridge Modern History, Vol. X. 
Hazen, Europe since iS/jf, chaps, i-vii, excellent. Fyffe, A History 
of Modern Europe, Vol. II. Phillips, Modern Europe, chaps, i-ix, 
especially good sections. Seignobos, Political History of Europe since 
1814, chaps, viii-x, most comprehensive single manual of the century. 

Robinson, Readings in European History, Vol. II, chap, xxxix. Rob- 
inson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. I, 
chap, xvi; Vol. II, chap. xvii. 



Bibliography 



759 



Andrews, The Historical Development of Modern Europe, 2 vols. C. Additional 

Hume, Modern Spain. Stillman, The Unity of Italy. Sybel, The readin S 
Founding of the German Empire, Vol. I. Phillips, The Confederation * 
of Europe, an excellent survey of congresses and the plans of the Tsar. 

CHAPTER XXVII 



Robinson and Beard, The Development of Modern Europe, Vol. II, A. General 
chap, xviii. Allsopp, An Introduction to English Industrial History, reac *i n g 
Part IV, excellent book for young students. Cheyney, Inditstrial and 
Social History of England, chap. viii. Gibbins, Industry in England, 
chaps, xx-xxi. Pollard, History of England (Home University Series), 
chap. vii. Slater, The Making of Modern England (American edition), 
especially the introduction, excellent. Warner, Landmarks in Eng- 
lish Industrial Histo?y, chaps, xv-xviii. Marvin, The Living Past, 
chaps, ix-x. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, 
chap, xviii. Cheyney, Readings in English History, chap, xviii. The Com- 
mttnist Manifesto, the most important pamphlet in the history of social- 
ism ; it can be easily procured for a few cents. Engels, Condition of the 
Working Class in 1844, largely drawn from official sources and observation. 

Byrn, Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century. Thurston, 
A History of the Steam Engine. Woolman and McGowan, Textiles. 
Cochrane, Modern Industrial Progress. Cunningham, Growth of Eng- 
lish, Industry and Commerce, Modern Times, Part II. Hobson, The 
Evolution of Modern Capitalism, excellent. Kirkup, The History of 
Socialism, well written and fair. Spargo and Arner, The Ele?nents 
of Socialism. Walling, Socialism as it is. 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



Robinson and Beard, The Development of Modern Europe, Vol. II, 
chaps, xix-xx. Andrews, Historical Development of Modern Europe, 
Vol. I, excellent. Fyffe, History of Modern Europe, Vol. Ill, chaps, xi- 
xiii. Hazen, Europe since 1815, chaps, viii-ix, xxiv-xxvi. Phillips, 
Modern Europe, chaps, xi-xiii. Seignobos, Political History of Modern 
Europe since 1814, chaps, v-vi, xii-xiv. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, 
chaps, xix-xx. Anderson, Constitutions and Select Documents. - The 
Reminiscences of, Carl Schurz, of great interest to American students. 
Karl Marx, Revolution and Coujtter Revolution in Germany, keen 
analysis, formerly articles in the New York Tribune. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



y6o 



Medieval and Modern Times 



C. Additional Cambridge Modem History, Vol. XI. Evans, The Second French Em- 
reading p in> Maurice, The Revolutionary Movement of 1848-184Q. MuRDOCK, 

The Reconstruction of Europe. 

CHAPTER XXIX 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



Cambridge Modern History, Vol. XI, chaps, xv-xvi, xix. Hazen, 
Europe since 18/5, chaps, x, xi, xiii, xvii. Ogg, The Governments of 
Europe, chaps, xix-xxi. Barry, The Papacy and Modern Times (Home 
University Series), chap. vii. Seignobos, Political History of Europe 
since 18 14, chaps, xi-xvi. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, 
chaps, xxi-xxii. Bismarck, Bismarck, the Man and the Statesman, an 
Autobiography, of prime importance but to be used with care. Maurice 
Busch, Bismarck, Some Secret Pages of his History, the memoirs of a 
private secretary. Garibaldi, Autobiography, 3 vols. Mazzini, Duties 
of Man (Everyman's Library). 

Andrews, Historical Development of Modern Europe, Vol. II. Munroe 
Smith, Bismarck and German Unity, the best short account. Guil- 
LAND, Modern Germany and her Historians, shows their importance in 
molding the ideas of modern Germany. Treitschke, History of 
Germany in the Nineteenth Century, of great importance. Headlam, 
The Foundation of the German Empire, 1815-1871 ; Bismarck and the 
Founding of the German Empire. Thayer, Cavour, a fine biography. 
Cesar esco, Cavour; The Liberation of Italy. King, A History of Italian 
Unity, 2 vols. King and Okey, Italy To-day, very readable, but a little 
out of date. Stillman, The Unity of Italy. 



CHAPTER XXX 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



Robinson and Beard, The Development of Modern Europe, Vol. II, 
chaps, xxv-xxvii. Cambridge Modern History, Vol. XI, chaps, i, xii, 
xxvii; Vol. XII, chap. iii. Cheyney, A Short History' of England, 
chaps, xix-xx. Cross, A History of England and Greater Britain, 
chaps. 1-lv. Hazen, Europe since 1815, chaps, xviii-xxii, excellent. 
Macy and Gannaway, Comparative Free Government, Part II, chaps, 
xxx-xli. Ogg, The Governments of Eiirope, chaps, i-viii. Oman, Eng- 
land in the A T ineteenth Century, best brief account. Slater, The Making 
of Modern England (American edition), excellent, with select bibli- 
ography. Story, The British Empire. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern Etiropean History, 
Vol. II, chaps, xxv-xxvii. Cheyney, Readings in English History, 
chaps, xix-xx. Hayes, British Social Politics, a collection of speeches 



Bibliography 



761 



covering the most recent period. Kendall, A Source Book of English 
History. Lee, Source Book of English History, Part VIII. Statesmen's 
Year Book. White and Notestein, Source Problems in English His- 
tory, Part VIII, sources dealing with the Parliament Act of 191 1. 
Winbolt, English History Source Books (Bell & Sons), Nos. 13-20, 
parts of a long series of cheap source books. 

Medley, English Constitutional History, a good reference manual. 
Lowell, The Government of Englattd, 2 vols., a standard work. Bage- 
HOT, The English Constitution. Botjrinot, Canada under British Rule. 
Dilkie, Problems 0/ Greater Britain, 2 vols. Egerton, A Short History 
of English Colonial Policy. Fraser, British Pule in India. Hobson, The 
War i?i South Africa. Hutchins and Harrison, A History of Factory 
Legislation. Innes, A History of England and the British Empire, Vol. IV. 
Jenks, A History of the Aztstralasian Colonies. McCarthy, A History of 
our Own Times, 4 vols. Walpole, A History of England since 1813, 
5 vols. Webb, Problems of Modern Industry. Paul, A History of Modern 
England, 5 vols., liberal in politics. Goldwin Smith, Irish History and 
the Irish Question. Three famous biographies are Morley, Life of 
Gladstone ; Trevelyan, Life of Bright ; and Monypenny and Buckle, 
Life of Beaconsfield. 

CHAPTER XXXI 

Robinson and Beard, Development of Modern Europe, Vol. II, 
chaps, xxiii-xxiv. Barker, Modern Germany. Cambridge Modern His- 
toiy, Vol. XII, chaps, v-vi. Hazen, Europe since 1815, chaps, xiv-xv. 
Kruger, Government and Politics of the German Empire, excellent. 
Macy and Gannaway, Comparative Free Government, Part II, chaps, 
xlvi-li. Ogg, The Governments of Europe, Parts II— III, best brief analysis. 
Seignobos, Political History of Europe since 1814, chaps, vii, xii-xvi. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, 
chaps, xxiii-xxiv. Anderson, Constitutions and Select Documents. 
Dodd, Modern Constitutions. 

Andrews, Contemporaneous Europe. Coubertin, The Evolution of 
France tinder the Third Republic. Bodley, France, by an English con- 
servative. Hon otaux, Contemporaneous France, 3 vols., the standard 
history. Howard, The German Constitution. Lowell, Governments 
and Parties in Continental Europe, 2 vols. Schevill, The Making of 
Modern Gemiany, very enthusiastic. Wendell, The France of To-day, 
very good book. Vizetelly, Republican France, a readable, gossipy 
volume. Bracq, The Third Reptcblic, good short survey, laudatory. 
Dewey, German Philosophy and Politics, a notable work. Dawson, 
The Economic Evolution of Modern Germany. 



C. Additional 
reading 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



762 



Medieval and Modern Times 



CHAPTER XXXII 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



Robinson and Beard, The Development of Modern Europe, Vol. II, 
chap, xxviii. Cambridge Modern Histojy, Vol. X, chap, xiii; Vol. XI, 
chap, xxii ; Vol. XII, chap. xiii. Hazen, Europe since 1813, chaps, xxix- 
xxxi. Seignobos, Political History of Etirope since 1814, chap. xix. 
Skrine, The Expansion of Russia, best brief survey. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, 
chap, xxviii. Kennan, Siberia and the Exile System. 2 vols. Kropotkin, 
Memoirs of a Revolutionist. 

Alexin sky, Modern Russia. Krausse, Russia in Asia. Mavor, An 
Economic History of Russia, 2 vols., elaborate and excellent. Milyou- 
KOV, Russia and its Crisis, a. valuable work by a leader in Russian 
thought and politics. Rambaud, History of Russia,\o\. Ill ; Expansion 
of Russia. Sarolea, Great Russia. Wallace, Russia, 2 vols., readable 
and thorough survey. Wesselitsky, Russia and Democracy. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 

C. Additional 
reading 



Robinson and Beard, The Development of Modern Europe, Vol. II, 
chap. xxix. Cambridge Modem History, Vol. XII, chap. xiv. Hazen, 
Europe since 1815, chap, xxviii. Seignobos, Political History of Europe 
since 181 4, chaps, xx-xxi. Sloane, The Balkans, a recent study. 
Gibbons, The New Map of Europe, very readable. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, 
chap. xxix. Holland, The European Concert in the Eastern Question. 

Davey, The Sultan and his Subjects, 2 vols. Lord Courtney (Editor), 
Nationalism and War in the A T ear East. Miller, The Ottoman Empire; 
The Balkans. Poole, Turkey. Rose, Development of the Modern 
European Nations, Vol. I. Buxton, Turkey in Revolutio?i. Abbott, 
Turkey in Transition. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



Cambridge Modem History, Vol. XII, chaps, xv-xxii. Douglas, 
Europe and the Far East, excellent. Hazen, Europe since 1815, 
chaps, xxiii, xxx. Holderness, The Peoples and Problems of India 
(Home University Series). Johnston, The Opening up of Africa 
(Home University Series). Reinsch, World Politics. Rose, The Devel- 
opment of the Modern European Natio?is, 2 vols. 

Robinson and Beard, Readings in Modern European History, Vol. II, 
chap. xxx. Annual Register. Statesman's Year Book. 



Bibliography 



763 



Dennis. Christian Missions and Social Progress. Foster, Arbitration 
and the Hague Cotirt. Giles, The Civilization of China (Home Univer- 
sity Series) ; China and the Chinese. Hunter, The Indian Empire, 
Knox, Japanese Life in Town and Country. Harris, Intervention and 
Colonization in Africa, a recent, reliable guide. Keltie, The Partition 
of Africa. Weale, The Reshaping of the Far East, 2 vols. 



C. Additional 
reading 



CHAPTER XXXV 



Angell, The Great Illusion, a criticism of the whole militaristic 
system. Stowell, The Diplomacy of the War of IQ14, the best and 
most thorough analysis of the diplomacy involved. Gibbons, The New 
Map of Europe, well written. 

Collected Diplomatic Documents relating to the Outbreak of the European 
War, London, 191 5, contains the publications of the various nations 
relative to their diplomatic exchanges preceding the outbreak of the 
war. The documents were reprinted by the New York Times and the 
Association for International Conciliation. The New York Tivies, 
Current History of the European War, contains valuable current 
material. Stowell's volume analyzes the documents. 

The Association for International Conciliation (Secretary at Columbia 
University) distributes free pamphlets which are often of great value. 
Bernhardi, Germany and the Next War, an example of German mili- 
taristic views. Dewey, German Philosophy and Politics, a survey of 
thought in the last century. Humphrey, International Socialism and 
the War. Labberton, Belgium a?td Germany. Ogg, The Governments 
of Europe, chaps, xxiv-xxvii. Price, The Diplomatic History of the War. 
von Mach, Germany 's Point of Viezv. Sarolea, The Anglo- German 
Problem, a suggestive book by a Belgian. Schmitt, England and 
Germany, 1J40—1914. 



A. General 
reading 



B. Source 
material 



C. Additional 
reading 



INDEX 



Marked letters sound as in far, there, prudent, move, French bori, orb 



Abbeys, dissolution of, in Eng- 
land, 319 
Abdul Hamid, Sultan of Turkey, 

696 f. 
Ab'e lard, 251 
Academy, French, 393 
Act of Supremacy, 317 
Act of Uniformity, 383 
Ad'ri an o'ple, battle of, 23 f. 
Advancement of Learning, 367 
Africa, exploration and partition 

of, 720 f. 
Agadir incident, the, 736 
Agincourt (afin court, Eng. pron.), 

battle of, 137 
AFa ric takes Rome, 24 
Albertus Magnus, 195, 253 
Al bi gen'sians, 188 f. 
Al'che my, 250 
Al'cuin, 85 
Alemanni, 33 

Alexander I of Russia, 543 f ., 674 f. 
Alexander II of Russia, 678 f. ; 

assassination of, 681 
Alexander III of Russia, 681 f. 
Alexius, Emperor, 167, 170 
Alfred the Great, 1 1 1 f . 
Algeciras (al je si'ras) Conference, 

the, 736 
Al ham'bra, the, 74 
Alsace (al sas') and Lorraine, 356, 

620 f. 
Alva, Duke of, 334 f. 
Amiens, peace of, 542 
Anabaptists, 307 
Andrea del Sarto (an dre'a del 

sar'to), 265 
Angles in Britain, 61 
Anglican Church, the, 456 f. 
Anglo-Japanese, alliance of, 735 
Anglo-Saxon, 241 
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 116 



Anjou(an / jo,Eng. pron.), 122, 124 ; 
House of, 141 ; Charles of, 164 
Anne, Queen, 425 
Antioch (an'ti ok), Latin kingdom 

oi, 173 

A qui'nas, Thomas, 195, 253 f. 

Arabian Alights' Entertaim?ients, 
The, 72 

Ar'a bic numerals, 257 

Ar'abs, condition of, before Mo- 
hammed, 64; conquests of, 72 ff., 
167 ; civilization of, in Spain, 270 

Ar'a gon, 270 

Archbishops, powers of, 184 

Architecture, medieval, 215 ff. ; 
Renaissance, 227 f. 

Aristotle, medieval veneration for, 
253 ; revolt against, 358 

Arkwright, 582 

Ar ma'da, 337, 350 

Armies and navies of Europe in 
1914, 727 f. 

Asquith, prime minister, 654 f. 

Assignats (a se nya/), 504 

As'sou an, great dam at, 723 

Astrology, 249 

At'ti la, 26 

Augsburg, battle of, 144, 155, 210; 
diet of, 307 ; Confession of, 308 ; 
Peace of, 309, 352 

Aug'ust Ine, bishop of Hippo, 24 

Austerlitz, battle of, 544 

Australia, 667 f. 

Austria, origin of, 269 ; in eight- 
eenth century, 419 f. ; in 1848, 
599 f. ; war with Prussia in 1866, 
616; since 1866, 737 f. ; rela- 
tions with Serbia, 738 f. See 
Hapsburgs 

Austria-Hungary, formation of 
1867, 737 L 

Avignon (av en yon'), 199 



765 



y66 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Babylonian captivity, 199 

Bacon, Francis, 362 f., 367 

Bacon, Roger, 255 

Baeda. See Venerable Bede 

Bagdad, 70 

Balance of power, 315 

Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, 170 f., 

173 
BaTi ol, John, 131 
Balkans, conditions in, 693 f. ; 

wars in the, 698 f., 700 f. 
Bannockburn, battle of, 131 
Baptists, 383 

" Barbarians, Laws of the," 36 
Barbarossa. See Frederick I 
Bards, Welsh, 129 
Ba sil'i ca, the, 43 
Bastile, fall of the, 498 f. 
Battering-rams, 97 
Bayeux (bayeh') tapestry, 115 
Becket, Thomas, ii9f. 
Belgium, kingdom of, 578 f. 
Benedict, St., 55 ; rule of, 55 f. 
Benedictine order, 55 and note; 

influence of, 56 
Berlin, Congress of 1878, 695 ; 

Decree, 548 
Bible, Luther's translation of the, 

302 ; English translation of 

the, 318; King James version 

of the, 367 
Bill of Rights, 385 
Bishop of Rome, early claims of, 

46 ; leading position of, 46-48, 

147 f., i84f. See Popes 
Bismarck, 614 f., 628 f. 
Black death, 135 
Blanc, Louis, 596 f. 
Boers in South Africa, 669 f. 
Bohemia, 81, 281 f., 352, 402 
Boleyn (bool'in), Anne, 316 f., 320 
Bolivar, General, 724 
Bologna (b5 lon'ya), University of, 

Bonaparte, Joseph, 546, 552 f. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon. See Napoleon 

Boniface, St., apostle to the Ger- 
mans, 63 f. 

Boniface VIII, Pope, 196, 198 

Books in Middle Ages, 258 f. 

Borodino, battle of, 556 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, 695, 697, 
738 



Boulanger (boo'lahia), General, 

639 f. 
Bourbon, House of, 141; Spanish, 

398 f. 
Brandenburg, elector of, 281, 408 f. 
Bremen (bra'men), 80, 210 
Britain conquered by the Angles 

and the Saxons, 61 
British empire, 424 f., 643 f., 

665 f., 672 
Bruce, Robert, 131 
Brumaire, 533 
Bubonic plague, 135 
Buch a rest', Treaty of, 701 
Bulgaria, atrocities in, 694 ; be- 
comes independent, 695 
Bundesrath, powers of, 626 f. 
Burgundians, 28, 33 ; number of, 

entering the Empire, 35 
Burgundy, 138, 142, 279, 396 
Burma, 663 f. 
Business in later Middle Ages, 

208 ff. 
Buttress, 218 f. 

Cabinet government in England, 

648 f . 
Cahiers (ki'ya), 495 f. 
Calais (kaTa), 139 
Caliph (ka'lif), title of, 70 
Caliphate transferred from Medina 

to Damascus, 70; to Bagdad, 70, 

81 
Calonne, 490 f. 
Calvin, 313 f., 338 
Campo-Formio, Treaty of, 528 f. 
Canada, formation of, 666 f. 
Canon law, 182 (note) 
Canossa, 155 
Capitalism, 587 f. 
Capitularies, 84 
Carbonari, the, 575 
Cardinals, origin of, 151 and note 
Carnot, 520 

Carolingian line, 75 (note) 
Cartwright, 583 
Cas si 5 do'rus, his treatises on the 

liberal arts and sciences, 28 f. 
Castles, medieval, 93 ff. 
Cathedral, 216 f. 
Catherine of Aragon, 316 f. 
Catherine of Medici (med'e che), 

338 ff. 



Index 



767 



Catherine II of Russia, 407 

Catholic Church, early conception 
of, 40 ; in eighteenth century, 
454 f. See Church, Clergy 

Catholic emancipation in Eng- 
land, 650 

Catholic League, 353 f. 

Cavaliers, 374 

Cavour, 608 f. 

Celts, 61 ; in Britain, 61 

Chalcedon (kal se'don), act of the 
council of, 48 

Chalons (sha lor/), battle of, 26 

Charlemagne (shar'le man), 75 ff.; 
disruption of Empire of, 87 

Charles I, 368 ff. 

Charles II of England, 382 ff., 

395 
Charles V, Emperor, 268, 272 ff., 

2 99 f -> 33 1 

Charles VIII of France, Italian 
invasion of, 274 ff. 

Charles IX of France, 338 f. 

Charles X of France, 569 

Charles XII of Sweden, 406 f. 

Charles Albert, king of Sardinia, 
600 f . 

Charles Martel, y^, 75 

Charter, Great, 125 f. 

Charters, town, 206 

Chartists, 645 f. 

Chartres (shartr), cathedral of, 
221 

Chaucer, 242 

China, 710 ff. 

Chivalry, 244 f. 

Christian Church, rise of, 17 ff. 

Christianity, promises of, 41 ; 
contrast with paganism, 41 f. 

Chrysoloras (kris 5 15'ras), 254 

Church, greatness of, 40 ; sources 
of power of, 41 ff. ; relation of, 
to the civil government, 43 ; 
begins to perform civil func- 
tions, 44 f. ; in time of Charle- 
magne, 80, 85 ; property of, 
146 ff. ; character and organiza- 
tion of, 181 ff.; relation of, to 
State, 195 ; break-up of, 284. 
See Clergy, Popes 

Church of England, 317, 345 

City-states, 222 ff. 

Civil war in England, 374 f. 



Clergy, position of, in Middle Ages, 
149 f., 186 ff. ; Civil Constitution 
of the, in France, 505 f. 

Clericis laicos, 197 

Clermont, Council of, 167 

Clipping, 210 

Clive, 435 

Cloister, 57 

Clovis, conquests of, 32 f. ; con- 
version of, 33; baptized, 35; 
number of soldiers of, 35 

Cnut (knoot), 112 

Code Napoleon, 540 

Coinage, medieval, 211 

Colbert (kol ber'), 392 f. 

Coligny (ko len'ye), 341 f. 

Columbus, 236 

Commerce in the Middle Ages, 
209 ff. 

Common law, 119 

Commons, House of. See Parlia- 
ment 

Commonwealth in England, 376 ff. 

Commune of Paris, 635 f. 

Communist Manifesto, The, 592 
(note) 

Compurgation, 37 

Concordat of 1801, 539 

Condottieri (kon dot tya're), 226 f. 

Confederation of the Rhine, 

545 f- 

Con'stan tine, 18 

Constantinople, 20, 170, 178 f. 

Conventicle Act, 383 

Conversion, of the Germans, 63 f.; 
of the Saxons, 79 f. 

Co per'ni cus, 358 f. 

Cor'do va, mosque at, 73 ; univer- 
sity at, 74, 270 

Coronation, religious ceremony, j6 

Cossacks, 675 f. 

Council of Five Hundred, 524 

Country life in eighteenth cen- 
tury, 442 ff. 

Covenant, National, 373 

Crecy (kra'se or Eng. pron. 
kres'sy), battle of, 133 

Crimean War, 691 ff. 

Crompton, 582 

Cromwell, Oliver, 375 ff. 

Crusades, 166 ff. 

Curia, papal, 184 

Custozza, battle of, 601 f. 



768 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Danegeld, 112 

Danes, invasion of England by, 

411 ff. 
Danton, 522 
Dark ages, 38, 85 
"Decembrist " revolt in Russia, 676 
Declaration of Independence, 440 
Declaration of Pillnitz, 509 f. 
Declaration of Rights of Man, 501 f. 
Degrees, university, explained, 

252 and note 
" Delegations " of Austria-Hun- 
gary, 73 8 
Denmark in Thirty Years' War, 3 53 
Descartes (da kart'), 361 ff. 
Diderot, 46S f. 
Diet, of Germany, 282 ; at Worms, 

299 
Directory, French, 524 
Discoveries, geographical, 232 ff. ; 

of the Portuguese, 234 f., 430 
Disorder, age of, 87 
Dispensations, 183 
Dissenters, 383, 457 
Divine right of kings, 76, 365 f., 

388 ff. 
Dominicans, 194 
Don'jon, 98 

Drake, Sir Francis, 348 
Dresden, battle of, 559 
" Dreyfus (dra'fus) affair," 639 f. 
Duma, Russian, 686 f. 
Dupleix (du pleks'), 434 
Diirer, Albrecht, 265 
Dutch, explorations of, 430. See 

Holland 

East, luxuries of, introduced into 

Europe, 210 
East Frankish kingdom, 88 
East Goths, 26 f ., 30 
East India Company, 664 
Eastern Church. See Greek Church 
Eastern Question, the, 689 ff.; the 

Near, 737 ff. 
Eck, John, 297 

Edessa, 171, 173; fall of, 176 
Edict of Nantes (nant), 344 ; rev- - 

ocation of, 397, 455 
Edict of Restitution, 353 
Education, 85, 86, 247 ff. 
Edward the Confessor, 112 f. 
Edward I, 127, 129 f., 196 



Edward II, 128, 131 

Edward III, 12S, 132 

Edward VI, 320 

Edward VII, 734 f. 

Egbert, 1 1 1 

Egypt, since 1500, 721 

Electors in the Empire, 281 

Elizabeth, Queen, 317, 345 ff. 

Emigres (a'mi gra), 507 f. 

Emir of Cordova, 81 

Empire, Holy Roman, 82, 145 f., 
158 ff., 164 

Encyclopedia of Diderot, 468 f. 

England, reconversion of, 63 ; in 
the Middle Ages, in ff. ; rela- 
tions with Scotland, 131 ; con- 
ditions of labor in, 136 f. ; Prot- 
estant revolt in, 314 ff.; under 
Elizabeth, 345 ff.; constitutional 
struggle in, 365 ff. ; since 1688, 
424 ff., 643 ff- 

English Church, 370 f. 

English constitution, 643 f. 

English language, 241 f. 

Entente cordiale, the, 734 f. 

Erasmus, 285 ff. ; attitude of, to- 
wards Luther, 294, 314; Praise 
of Folly of, 315 

Estates General, 133 f., 141, 198, 
389, 492 ff. 

European war of 1914, 727 f. 

Excommunication, 187 

Exeter, cathedral of, 221 

Fabliaux (fab le 5'), 244 
Factory system, 587 ff. 
" Fashoda affair," the, 734 
Ferdinand, Emperor, 331 and note 
Ferdinand of Aragon, 271 
Feudal system. See Feudalism 
Feudalism, 103 ff. ; warfare, 107 f. ; 
introduction of, into England, 
1 1 6; introduction of, into France, 
141 ; relation of, to Church, 147 
Fiefs. See Feudalism 
Flanders, 117, 210 
Flayers, 141 

Fleur-de-lis (fler de le'), 133 
Florence, 165, 222, 228, 264, 275, 

278 
France, 135, 140 ff.; natural bound- 
aries of, 335, 394; under Louis 
XIV, 387 ff.; since Louis XIV, 



Index 



769 



430, 440, 474 ff., 568 ff ., 636 ff., 
641 ff. 
Franche-Comte (frofish kohta'), 

342, 355. 395 
Francis I, 277 ; persecution under, 

337 
Francis II, 338 f. 
Francis Ferdinand, Archduke, 

murder of, 742 f. 
Francis Joseph of Austria, 603 f. 
Franciscans, 190 ff. 
Franco-German War of 1870, 

619 ff. 
Frankfort, Diet of, 571 
Franks, conquests of, 28, 31 f . ; 

conversion of, 33, 75, 87 
Frederick I, Emperor, 158 f., 162, 

177 
Frederick II, Emperor, 162 f. 
Frederick the Great, 412 ff. 
Frederick William, the Great Elec- 
tor, 409 f. 
Frederick William I of Prussia, 

411 f. 
Frederick William IV of Prussia, 

600 ff. 
Frederick the " winter king," 

352 f- 

Frederick the Wise, 288, 297 
Free Trade in England, 653 
Freedom of Speech, 459 f. 
French language, 243 and note 
French medieval romances, 243 
Friedland, battle of, 547 
Fritzlar, sacred oak of Odin at, 64 

Gaelic (ga'lik), 130 

Ga le'rius, 18 

Gal ile'o, 359 f. 

Garibaldi, 610 f. 

Gascony (gas'kSni), 124 

Gelasius (je la/shi us), Pope, his 
opinion of the relations of the 
Church and the civil govern- 
ment, 45 

Geneva, reformation at, 313 

Genghis Khan, 403 

Genoa, 178, 209, 222 

Geographical discoveries, 232 ff., 

430 
George I, 426 f. 
George II, 427 f. 
George III, 426, 439 f. 



German Confederation, 571 f. 

German Empire, formation of, 622 

Germanic languages, origin of, 36, 
240 

Germans, objects of, in invading 
the Empire, 23 ; number of, in- 
vading, 35; fusion of, with the 
Romans, 35 ; character of early, 
38 ; conversion of, 61 ff. 

Germany, 1456°.; division of, into 
small states, 164, 268; universi- 
ties of, 252; in the sixteenth 
century, 280 ff. ; religious divi- 
sion of, 306 ; constitution of 
modern, 626 ff . ; since 1870, 
633 ff. ; attitude towards Triple 
Entente, 736 ; army budget of 

I9I3» 74i 

Ghiberti (ge ber'te), 264 

Gibraltar, 400 

Girondists, 516 f. 

Gladstone, 659 f. 

Godfrey of Bouillon (bo yon'), 170 f . 

Golden Bull, 108 

Gordon, General, 722 

Gothic architecture, 217 ff. 

Gothic sculpture, 221 f. 

Gra na'da, the Alhambra at, 74; 

fall of, 81 
Grand Remonstrance, 373 
" Great schism," 230 
Greece, 578, 690 
Greek, study of, in the Middle 

Ages, 253 f. 
Greek Church tends to separate 

from the Latin, 48 
Gregory VII, Pope, 152 ff. 
Gregory the Great, 50 f. ; writings 

of, 51; missionary work of, 52, 62 
Gregory of Tours, 30, 33 
Grotius, 400 

Guienne (ge en'), 122, 124 
Guilds, in the Middle Ages, 208 ; 

of teachers, 251 ; in eighteenth 

century, 448 ff. 
Guise (gez), House of, 337, 340 ff. 
Gunpowder, 257 f. 
Gustavus Adolphus, 353 ff. 

Hague, conferences at, 731 f< 
Hamburg, 210 
Hampden, John, 370 f. 
Hanseatic League, 214 



77° 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Hapsburg, Rudolph of, 164, 269; 
House of, 268 ff., 419 f. ; races 
in dominions of, yy] f. 
Hardenberg, 570 
Ha'rem, 69 
Hargreaves, 582 
Harold, Earl of Wessex, 1 13 f. 
Harvey, William, 367 
Hastings, battle of, 115 
Hebert, 522 f. 
He ji'ra, the, 359 
Henry I of England, 117 
Henry II of England, 117 
Henry III of England. 127 
Henry VII of England, 140 
Henry VIII of England, 279, 
31 5 ff. ; divorce case of, 316 f . ; 
revolt of, against papacy, 317^ 
Henry II of France, 338 
Henry III of France, 342 f. • 
Henry IV of Germany, 153; con- 
flict of, with Gregory VII, 

153*. 

Henry V of Germany, 157 

Henry IV of Navarre, 343 ff. 

Heresy, 175, 187 f. 

High Church party, 372 

Highlands, 130 

History, continuity or unity of, 3 

Hohenstaufens, 1 58 f . See Fred- 
erick I, Frederick II 

Hohenzollerns, 614 f. 

Holbein (horbln), Hans, 265 

Holy Roman Empire, 83, 144 ff., 
269, 357, 545 

Homage, 104 

Hospitalers, 174 

Hrolf, 113 

Huguenots, 339 ff., 396 ff. 

Humanists, 255 

Humbert, King, 625 

Hundred Years' War, 132 ff., 139 

Hungarians, invasions of, 92, 144, 
169 

Huns, 23, 26 

Imperialism, origin and nature of, 

708 f. 
Independents, 372 
Index of prohibited books, 326 
India, 431 ff., 661 ff. 
Indulgences, 290 and note 
Industrial Revolution, 580 ff. 



Innocent III, Pope, 125, 175, 
192, 194; struggle of, with the 
Hohenstaufens, 162 ff. 

Inquisition, 109 f. ; in Spain, 272; 
in the Netherlands, 333 f. 

Institute, French, 363 

Institutes of Christianity, Calvin's, 

3 J 3 f-» 338 
Interdict, 125, 187 
Interest, attitude towards, in the 

Middle Ages, 212 
International law, 400 
International trade, growth of, in 

nineteenth century, 703 f. 
Invasions in the ninth and tenth 

centuries, 89 f. 
Inventions, modern, 255 f., 363, 

580 ff. 
Investiture, 147 ff., 164; question 

of, settled, 158 
Ireland, 348 f., 376 f., 657 ff. 
Irene, Empress, 82 
Isabella, queen of Castile, 271 
Italian cities, trade of, with Orient, 

209 ; of the Renaissance, 222 ff. ; 

in eighteenth century, 446 
Italian despots, 232 
Italy, in the Middle Ages, 88, 

222 ff.; art of, 264 ff.; becomes 

battleground of Europe, 274 ff.; 

since 18 15, 574 ff-, 608 ff., 622 ff. 
Ivan the Terrible, 404 

Jacobins, 510 f. 

James I, 365 ff., 389 

James II, 384 f. 

James VI of Scotland (James I of 
England), 131 

Jameson's raid, 670 

Japan, 717 ff. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 481 

Jena, battle of, 547 

Jerome, St., advocate of the mo- 
nastic life, 55 

Jerusalem, 167, 172, 177 f. ; king- 
dom of, 173 

Jesuits, 326 ff., 352 

Jews, economic importance of, 
212; persecution of, 271 f . ; 
massacres of, in Russia, 683 f. 

Joan of Arc, 137 f. 

John of England, 123 ff., 132 

John Frederick of Saxony, 309 



Index 



771 



Joseph II of Austria, 421 f. 
Journal des Savants (joornal'da. 

sav on'), 394 
Jubilee of 1300, 197 
Julius IT, Pope, 264 
Jury, trial by, 118 
"Just" price, 211 
Justinian, 30 f. 
Justs and tourneys in the Middle 

Ages, 108 

Kaaba (k'a'ba), 64, 67 

Kadijah (ka de'ja), wife of Moham- 
med, 64 

Kaiser of Germany, powers of, 
626 

Karlsbad Resolutions, 572 

Kiaochow (kyou ch5'), 714 

Kiel Canal, 742 (note) 

Kitchener, General, 723 

Knighthood, 245 f. 

Knights in Germany, 282 

Knox, John, 346 

Ko ran', the, 65 f. 

Kosciusko, 419 

Kuropatkin, General, 717 

Lamartine, 596 
Lancaster, House of, 139 f. 
Land, ownership of, in the Middle 

Ages, 89, 92 
Langton, Stephen, 124 
Lateran, palace of the, 231 
Latin kingdoms in Syria, 173 
Latin language, 36, 239 ff. 
Latin literature, extinction of, 30 
Laud, William, 370 f. 
La Vendee (von da'), 519 
Learning preserved by the Church, 

85 
Legates, papal, 183 
Leipzig, battle of, 559 f. 
Leo X, 264, 277, 288 ff. 
Leo the Great, 26, 48 
Leonardo da Vinci (la on ar'do da 

vin'che), 265 
Leopold II, 508 f. 
Lettres de cachet, 483 
Leuthen (Loy'ten), 414 
Livingstone, David, 720 - 
Llewellyn, 129 
Lloyd-George, 654 ff. 
Lombard League, 162 



Lombard towns, 160 

Lombards, in Italy, 31 ; as bankers, 
212 

Lombardy conquered by Charle- 
magne, 80 

London, Treaty of, 700 

Lord, medieval, 102 

Lords, House of, 128 

Lorenzo the Magnificent, 228, 264 

Louis XI of France, 142 

Louis XIV of France, 387 ff. 

Louis XV of France, 486 

Louis XVI of France, 486 ff . 

Louis XVIII of France, 568 ff. 

Louis Philippe, 569 f., 595 f. 

Louis the Pious, 87 

Louisiana, sale of, 536 

Low Church party, 372 

Lowlands of Scotland, 130 

Lo yS'la, 326 ff. 

Lii'beck, 210, 214 

Lu'ne ville, Treaty of, 536 

Luther, Martin, 288 ff. 

Lutheran revolt, 303 ff. 

Macedonia, massacres in, 696 

Machiavelli (ma kya vel'le), The 
Prince, by, 228 

Magdeburg, destruction of, 354 

Magellan, expedition of, 236 

Magenta, battle of, 609 

Mahratta Confederacy, 662 f. 

Maine, 122, 142, 186 

Malta, 174 

Mamelukes, in Egypt, 721 f. 

Manor, medieval, 100 ff. ; in Eng- 
land, 136 

Marches, 81 

Marconi, 707 

Marco Polo, 232 

Marengo, battle of, 535 

Margraves, 81 

Maria Theresa, 421 

Marie Antoinette, 487, 521 

Marignano (ma ren ya'no), battle 
of, 278 

Marston Moor, battle of, 375 

Marx, Karl, 592 f. 

Mary of Burgundy, 269 

Mary of England, 317, 322 f. 

Mary Queen of Scots, 338, 347 f. 

Matilda, 115, 117 

Max i mil'ian I, Emperor, 268 f. 



772 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Mayence, elector of, 281 ; arch- 
bishop of, 285 

Mayflower, 372 

Mayor of the Palace, 75 

Mazarin (ma za rah'), 387 

Mazzini (madze'ne), 576 f., 602 

Mecca, 64, 65 ; pilgrimage to, 67 

Medici (med'eche), the, 228 

Medina, 65, 70 

Melanchthon (me langk'thon), 308 

Mendicant orders, 190 f. 

Merovingian line, 34, 75 (note) 

Mer'sen, Treaty of, 87, 145 

Methodists, 458 f. 

Metternich, 570 f., 599 f. 

Metz, battles of, 620 

Michael Angelo, (mi'kel an'je lo), 
265 

Middle Ages, meaning of the term, 
3 f. ; character of, 38 

Mil'an, 160, 277, 278; despots of, 
227 

Militarism, 727 f. 

Minnesingers, 246 f. 

Mirabeau, 497 

Miracles, frequency of, in Middle 
Ages, 42 f. 

Missions, of Jesuits, 329 f.; foreign, 
in nineteenth century, 708 f. 

Model Parliament, 127 

Modern inventions, 255 ff., 363, 
580 ff. 

Modern languages, 239 ff. 

Mo harn'med, 64 f. 

Mohammedanism, 65 ff. 

Mohammedans, 64 ff. ; expelled 
from Spain, 81 ; in Sicily, 90 

Monasteries, arrangement of, 
57 ff._ 

Monasticism, attraction of, for 
many different classes, 54 f. 

Money, lack of, in Middle Ages, 
89; replaces barter, 102, 105 

Mongols, 403, 431 f. 

Monks, 42 ; origin and distin- 
guished services of, 54 f. ; mis- 
sionary work of, 61 ff. 

" Monroe Doctrine," 724 

Mon'te Cassino (kas se'nS), found- 
ing of, 55 

Montenegro, 695 

Moors, 374, 270 f. ; expelled from 
Spain, 272,351 



More, Sir Thomas, 314, 318 
Morocco, Franco-German dispute 

in, 736 
Moscow, 403 
Mosque, 69 
Mukden, battle of, 717 

Nantes (nant), Edict of, 344, 397, 

455 
Naples, kingdom of, 274 (note), 

277 
Napoleon I, 526 ff. 
Napoleon III, 597 ff. 
Nase'by, battle of, 375 
National Assembly in France, 

496 ff., 502 f. 
National Covenant, 373 
National workshops, 597 
Natural boundaries of France, 355, 

394 
Navarino, battle of, 691 
Navarre, 339 
Navigation Act, 378 f. 
Necker, 489 f. 
Neighborhood war in the Middle 

Ages, 107, 282 
Netherlands, revolt of the, 332 ff. ; 

Louis XIV's invasion of the, 

395 

New Atlantis, 362 f. 

New York, 384 

New Zealand, colonization of, 
668 f. 

Nicaea (nl se'a), 161, 169, 17-1 

Nicholas I, 676 ff. 

Nicholas II, 683 f., 730 f. 

Nicholas II, Pope, 151 

Nightingale, Florence, 692 

Nimes (nem), 10 

Nobility, origin of titles of, 84 

Nogaret, 198 

Nogi, General, 717 

Norman Conquest of England, 
in ff . ; results of, n6f. 

Normandy, 112 f., 122, 124 

North German Confederation, 
613 f., 618 

Northmen, 386 ; invasion of Eng- 
land by, in, 114 

Notables, French, 492 f. 

Notre Dame (no'tr dam), 216 

Novgorod, 403 

Nuremberg, 210 



Index 



773 



O do a'cer, 26 

"Opium War" of 1840, 7iof. 

Orange, William of, 335 ff. 

Ordeals, 37 

Orient, European relations with, 

178 f., 209 
Orleans, House of, 141 ; Maid of, 

137 f - 
Os'tro goths. See East Goths 
Otto I, the Great, of Germany, 

144 ff. 
Owen, Robert, 584 • 

Oxford, University of, 252 

Palatinate, elector of the, 281 ; 
Rhenish, 397 

Panama Canal, 705 

Pankhurst, Mrs., 648 

Pan-Slavic Congress of 1848, 
602 f. 

Papacy, origin of, 46 f. See Pope 

Papal states, 222 

Paper and paper-making, introduc- 
tion of, into western Europe, 
262 

Pa py'rus, 84 

Parchment, use of, 85 

Paris, University of, 251 ; Treaty 
of, 415; in eighteenth century, 
445 f. ; Commune of, 635 f. ; re- 
cent conditions of, 638 f. 

Parlement, French, 484 f. 

Parliament, English, 127 f., 200, 
460; "Kneeling," 323 ; struggle 
of, with Stuarts, 365 f. ; Long, 

373 

Parsifal, 247 

Paschal II, Pope, 157 

Paulus DI ac'o nus, 86 

Pavia (pave'a), battle of, 314 

Peace, movements for, 730 f. 

Peasants, medieval, 100 ff.; revolt 
of, in England, 136, 201 ; revolt 
of, in Germany, 304 f. ; in eight- 
eenth century, 444 f. 

Peasants' Revolt, 136, 201 

Penance, 186 

Peninsular War, 553 f. 

Persecution in England, 324 and 
note 

Peter, St., regarded as first bishop 
of Rome, 46 

Peter the Great, 404 ff. 



Peter the Hermit, 169 

Petition of Right, 368 f. 

Petrarch, 254 

Philip Augustus, 122 f., 177 

Philip the Fair, 131, 175, 196 f. 

Philip of Hesse, 309 

Philip II of Spain, 323 ff., 348 f. 

Pilgrim Fathers, 372 

Pippin the Short, 75 

Pirates in the Middle Ages, 213 

Pitt, the elder, 433 ff. 

Pius IX, Pope, 577 

Plantagenets, 122 ff. 

Poitou (pwa to'), 124 

Poland, 415 ff.; rebellion in, 676 

Political economy, rise of, 471 

Pope, 46 ; origin of the title of, 
49 ; relation of, with Otto the 
Great, 145 ; position of, in Mid- 
dle Ages, 183 f. ; since 1870, 
622 f. 

Popes, duties of the early, 49 f. ; 
origin of the "temporal" power 
of, 52, 75; election of, 151; 
claims of, 1 52 f . ; at Avignon, 
199 

Port Arthur, capture of, 716 f. 

Portcullis, 98 

Portsmouth, Treaty of, 718 

Portuguese discoveries, 234^,430 

Praise of Folly, by Erasmus, 287 

Prayer book, English, 321 f., 345 

Prayer rugs, 67 

Presbyterian Church, 313 f. 

Pressburg, Treaty of, 544 

Pretender, the Young, 427 f. 

Pride's Purge, 375 

Priest, duties of, 186 

Prince of Wales, 129 

Printing, invention of, 258, 262 f. 

Protestant, origin of the term, 

307 
Protestant revolt, in Germany, 

288 ff . ; in Switzerland, 311 ff . ; 

in England, 314 ff. 
Protestantism, progress of, 309 
Provencal (pro von sal'), 243 
Provence (pro vohs'), 142 
Punjab, the, 663 f. 
Puritans, 372 and note 
Pyramids, battle of, 532 

Quakers, 383, 457 f. 



774 



Medieval and Modern Times 



Railways, origin and development 

of, 705 f. 
Ramadan (ra ma dan'), month of, 

67 
Raphael, 265 
Ravenna, interior of a church at, 

27 ; tomb of Theodoric at, 28 
Raymond, Count, 170, 172 
Redress of grievances, 127 
Reform, spirit of, 363, 461 f. 
Reform bills, in England, 645, 

647 

Regular clergy, defined, 57 

Reichstag, powers of, 627 f. 

Reign of Terror, 507, 516 f. 

Rembrandt, 266 

Renaissance (re na sons'), cities 
of the, 222 ff . ; buildings of, 
228 f. ; art of, 264 ff. 

Restoration in England, 3S2 ff. 

Retainers, 139 

Revolution of 1688, 3S4 f. 

Rheims (remz), 137, 138; cathe- 
dral of, 221 

Rhodes, island of, 174 

Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, 123, 
177 

Richelieu, 344, 355 f. 

Rising in the north of England, 

347 f- 

Roads in the Middle Ages, 89 

Robespierre (rob'spe er), 522 f. 

Rollo, 113 

Roman art and architecture, 1 2 ff. 

Roman Church, the mother 
church, 46 f. 

Roman Empire, and its govern- 
ment, 4ff. ; "fall" of, in the 
West, 26 ; relation of, with the 
Church, 43 ; continuity of, 83 

Roman law, 7 f., 27, 37 

Romance languages, 240 

Romances in the Middle Ages, 243, 
244 

Romanesque architecture, 217 

Rome, city of, in Middle Ages, 
24, 50, 230 f., 264 

Rouen (ro oh'), 113, 138 

Roumania, 695 

Roundheads, 375 

Rousseau, 469 ff. 

Roussillon (ro se yon'), 355 f. 

Royal Society, English, 363 



Rubens, 266 

Rudolf of Hapsburg, 164, 269 
Runnymede, 125 

Russo-Japanese War, 684 f., 716 f. 
Russo-Turkish war of 1877, 681, 
694 f. 

Sadowa, battle of, 617 

St. Bartholomew, Massacre of, 342 

St. Benedict, Rule of, 147 

St. Bernard, 176 f. 

St. Boniface anoints Pippin, 75 

St. Dominic, 194 

St. Francis, 190 f. 

St. Peter's, rebuilding of, 290, 291 

St. Petersburg (Petrograd), found- 
ing of, 406 

Saint-Simon (sah se moh'), 393 

Sal'a din takes Jerusalem, 177 

Saracens, 173, 210 

Savannah, the, 704 

Sav 6 na r5'la, 275 

Saxons, settle in England, 61 ; con- 
quest of, by Charlemagne, 79; 
rebellion of, 1 56 

Saxony, elector of, 281 

Schleswig-Holstein affair, 615 f. 

Scholasticism, 2 53 ; attack of Roger 
Bacon on, 255 

School of the palace, 85 f. 

Schwarzenberg, 606 

Science, medieval, 247 ff. ; begin- 
nings of modern, 358 ff. ; oppo- 
sition to modern, 464 

Scone, Stone of, 131 

Scotch nation, language of, 130; 
differs from England, 132 

Scotland, 130 ff., 373, 377 ; Pres- 
byterian Church in, 346 

Secular clergy defined, 57 

Sedan, battle of, 620 

Seljuk Turks, 167 

Senlac, 114 

Separation of Church and State 
in France, 640 f. 

Separatists, 372 

Sepoy rebellion, 664 

Serbia, 690, 738 ff. 

Serfdom, 100 ff., 442 f. ; extinction 
of, 102 (note); in England, 
137; in Prussia, 558; in Russia, 
678 f. 

Serfs, medieval, 100 ff. 



Index 



77$ 



Seven Years' War, 414 f., 433 f. 
Seville, tower at (Giralda), 73, 

270 
Shakespeare, 367 
Ship money, 370 
Shires, 129 
Sicily, 163, 165, 179 
Sidon, 173 

Sigismund, Emperor, 407 
Simony (sim'o ny), 150 
Slavs, subdued by Charlemagne, 

81 ; invasion of, 92 ; form Russia, 

402 f. 
Smith, Adam, 471 
Social Democratic party, 626 f. 
Socialism, 591 ff., 731 
Solferino, battle of, 609 
Song of Roland, 243 
Sorbonne, 2,37 
South African Union, 670 f. 
Spain, 24, 81, 237, 270 f., 273; 

exhaustion of, 337, 350 f. 
Spanish-American War, 724 f. 
" Spanish fury," 336 
Spanish Inquisition, 272 
Spanish main, 237 
Spanish Succession, War of, 398 
Speyer, diet of, 306 
Spice trade in the Middle Ages, 

234 ff. 
Spinning and weaving, 580 ff. 
Stained glass, medieval, 220 
Stamp Act, 437 
Stanley, in Africa, 720 
States of the Church. See Papal 

states 
Statute of provisors, 199 
Statutes of Laborers, 136 
Steam engine, 584 f. 
Stein, 557, 570 
Stephen, 117 

Stephenson, George, 705 f. 
Strassburg, 396 
Stuarts, 365 ff. 
Subvassal, 103 ; not under control 

of king, 106 
Suez Canal, 704 f. 
Suffrage, reform of, in England, 

644 f. 
Sully, 344 
Suzerain, 103 
Sweden in Thirty Years' War, 

353 ^ 



Switzerland, origin of, 31 iff.; Prot- 
estant revolt in, 312 ff.; merce- 
naries, 313 (note) 

Syndicalism, 641 

Syria, Latin kingdoms in, 173 

Tacitus, 79 

Taille (ta'ye), 141, 477 

Talleyrand, 565 f. 

Tancred, in First Crusade, 170 

Tartars, 403 

Templars, 174 f., 199 

" Temporalities," 148 

"Tennis-Court" oath, 496 

Terrorism in Russia, 680 f . 

Test Act, 384 

Tetzel, 291 

Textbooks, 403 ff. 

The od'o ric, 26 ff. 

Theodosian (the o do'shi an) Code, 

Theses of Luther on indulgences, 
291 f. 

Third estate in France, 481 

Third French Republic, 635 ff. 

Thirty-Nine Articles, 322, 456 f. 

Thirty Years' War, 352 ff. 

Thomas Aquinas, 195 

Thomas of Canterbury, 319 

Tilly, 354 f. 

Tilsit, treaties of, 547 f. 

Tithe, 182 

Titian, 265 

Togo, Admiral, 718 

Tolls in the Middle Ages, 213 

Tolstoy, 674 

Tourneys in the Middle Ages, 108 

Tours, battle of, 73 

Towns, of Germany, 80, 282 ; in 
the Middle Ages, 1 59 f ., 165, 
203 ff., 215, 222 ff.; in eighteenth 
century, 445 ff. ; recent develop- 
ment of, 588 

Trade, medieval, 206, 208 ff. ; regu- 
lated by the towns, 214; spice, 
224 ff. ; growth of international, 

703 f- 
Trade-unions, 449, 590 f. 
Trafalgar, battle of, 548 
Treaty of Mersen, 87 
Trent, Council of, 325 ff. 
Treves, elector of, 281 ; archbishop 

of, 304 



77& 



Medieval and Modem Times 



Triple Alliance, the, 631 

Triple Entente, the, 735 

Tripoli, 172, 173, 178 

Troubadours, 244 f. 

Truce of God, 10S f. 

Tsar, power of, 675 

Tudor, House of, 140 f., 365 

Turgot, 487 f. 

Turkey and the Eastern Question, 

689 ff. 
Turks, 167, i68> 173, 407, 420, 

696 
"Twelve Articles" of the peasants, 

3°4 

Ulrich von Hutten, 295, 304 
Unification of Italy and Germany, 

608 ff. 
United Netherlands, 335 ff., 384 
Unity of history, 3 
Universities, medieval, 250 ff., 

254 
Urban II, Pope, 167 
Usury, doctrine of, 212 
Utrecht, Union of, 336 ; Treaty of, 

399 

Valentinian III; decree of, 48 

Vandals, 24 f., 30 

Van Dyck, 266 

Van Eyck, the brothers, 265 

Vasa (va'sa), Gustavus, 354 

Vassal, medieval, 103 ff. 

Vassy, massacre of, 341 

Vatican, 231 

Velasquez (vel ask'eth), 266 

Venerable Bede, the, 54, 63 

Venetian school of painting, 

265 
Venice, 165, 178,209, 210, 222 ft .; 

government of, 225ft; war with 

Turks, 420 
Versailles (versalz'), palace of, 

390 f . 
Victor Emanuel II, 608 ff. 
Victor Emanuel III, 625 
Victoria, Queen, 652 ff. and note 
Vikings (vi'kings), 92 (note) 
Vil. See Manor 
Villains, 100 
Ville, 204 

Visigoths. See West Goths 
Voltaire, 465 f. 



Vulgate, 323 

Wager of battle, 37 

Wagram, battle of, 553 

Waldensians, 188 

Waldo, Peter, 188 

Wales, I28fft 

Wallenstein, 353ft 

Walpole, prime minister of Eng- 

lana, 427 
Walter the Penniless, 169 
Walther von der Vogelweide, 

247 
War of 19 1 4, 727 ff., 742 ff. 
War of Liberation in Prussia, 

558 ff. 
Wars of the Roses, 139 f. 
Wartburg (vart'borg), translation 

of Bible at, by Luther, 302 
Waterloo, battle of, 562 
Watt, James, 586 
Weihaiwei (wi ha wl) obtained by 

England, 715 
Wesley, John, 458 
Wessex, 405 
West Frankish kingdom, 88 f 

112 
West Goths, 24 ft, 33, 35 
Westminster, city of, 128 
Westminster Abbey, 115 
Westphalia, Treaty of, 357 
Whitney, Eli, invents cotton gin, 

583 

William the Conqueror, 113 ff. 

William Rufus, 117 

William III (William of Orange), 
384 ft, 396 ; and Mary, 385, 424 

William I, king of Prussia and 
emperor of Germany, 613 f. 

William II of Germany, accession 
of, 631 ft; relations with Bis- 
marck, 632 ft; attitude towards 
socialism, 633 

William the Silent, 335 ff. 

Wind'ischgratz, General, 602 

Wit'e na ge mot, 116 

Wittenberg, 2S8, 291, 298 

Wolfram von Eschenbach, 247 

Wolsey, Thomas, Cardinal, 279, 

315 f- 
Woman suffrage in England, 

647 f- 
Women in factories, q88 ft 



Index 



777 



Worms, 154 ; Concordat of, 157 f. 

diet at, 299 ; Edict of, 301 
Wyc'liffe, John, 201 

Xavier (zaVe a), Francis, 329 

York, House of, 139 f. 
Young, Arthur, 481 



Yuan Shih-kai (shl ki) attempts to 
become "Emperor of China," 
718 f. 

Zo live rein, 573 

Zurich, reformation at, 313 

Zwingli, 307, 312 f. 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOD- 
ERN EUROPE 

An Introduction to the Study of Current History 

By JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON, Professor of History in Columbia University, 
and Charles A. Beard, Adjunct Professor of Politics in Columbia University 



VOLUME I. The Eighteenth Century: The French Revolution 
and the Napoleonic Period, iamo. Cloth. 362 pages. With illustra- 
tions and maps. $1.50. 

VOLUME II. Europe since the Congress of Vienna. i2mo. Cloth. 

448 pages. With illustrations and maps. $1. 60. 



' I A HESE volumes will meet the demand for a history of recent 
times which shall explain the social and economic as well as 
the political development of our own age, and shall also prepare 
the student to understand the great problems of the world in 
which he finds himself. 

Their aim is to correct the general disregard of recent history, 

— to enable the student to catch up with his own times so that 
he may peruse with intelligence the news given in the morning 
paper. 

Much less space is devoted to purely political and military 
events than has been commonly assigned to them in histories of 
the nineteenth century. On the other hand, the more funda- 
mental economic matters — the Industrial Revolution, commerce 
and the colonies, the internal reforms of the European states, etc. 

— have been generously treated. 

The necessarily succinct outline of events which fills the books 
can be considerably amplified and enlivened by " Readings in 
Modern European History " from the same authors, which follows 
the narrative chapter by chapter, and furnishes examples of the 
stuff of which history is made. 

GINN & COMPANY Publishers 



READINGS IN MODERN EURO- 
PEAN HISTORY 

A collection of extracts from sources chosen with the purpose of illustrating 

some of the chief phases of the development of Europe 

during the last two hundred years 

By James Harvey Robinson, Professor of History, and Charles A. Beard, 
Adjunct Professor of Politics, in Columbia University 



Volume I. The Eighteenth Century: The French Revolu- 
tion and the Napoleonic Period, nmo, cloth, illustrated, 

410 pages, $1.40 

Volume II. Europe since the Congress of Vienna. i2mo, 
cloth, illustrated, 448 pages, $1.50 



"DEADINGS IN MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY" 
AV aims to stimulate the student to real thought and interest in 
his work by bringing him right to the sources of historical knowl- 
edge and enabling him to see the very words of those who, writ- 
ing when the past was present, can carry him back to themselves 
and make their times his own. In this way the book offers the 
proper background and atmosphere for " The Development of 
Modern Europe," by the same authors, which it accompanies 
chapter by chapter and section by section. 

Bibliographies provided in the Appendix start the student on 
the path to a really thorough study of the field. 

A goodly number of the readings in this volume are of the constitu- 
tional kind which merit and richly reward careful study. A still larger 
number are of the interesting and lively kind which charm and enter- 
tain, and which are valuable because they give the flavor of the olden 
times. The bibliography is no mere list of unappreciated titles, but an 
excellent critical classification which guides the student quickly on to 
the fundamental works. — Sidney B. Fay, Assistant Professor of His- 
tory, Dartmouth College, in The America7i Historical Review. 



GINN AND COMPANY Publishers 

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